Coming Home: 20 Years Later
by MischaRocks
Summary: REPOST: Jessie & Katie find each other after 20 years / Written BEFORE all other sequels / NO TEENAGE angst, just plain literary exercise
1. Prologue / Dr. Jessie Sammler, M.D.

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Authors' Note:

This is set 20 years in the future, with some references to Janine's "About A Girl" story which was so beautifully written. But we cannot really call this a sequel - this was started **before** Janine started writing her own sequel. But that's one great thing about the future: it's like a blank canvass and that makes it really exciting.

This is our very first fanfic attempt, so the formatting and stuff might be a little off. We plead guilty.

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Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie

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Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

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Warning: If you're looking for teenage angst, this is NOT the story for you

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COMING HOME: 20 YEARS LATER

By Kristy and Sandy

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PROLOGUE

Jessie and Katie met when they were in high school. They were young and they fell in love - the reserved, intelligent, sad Jessie and the outgoing, outspoken Katie. They couldn't have been more different but life had its plans. Together they brought out the best in each other, and together they made plans. With a love so honest and so pure, no choice was really given to their family and friends but to accept them. When you're in high school, life seems like this endless dream and the world beyond is just that - another world. Like Romeo and Juliet before them (only without the tragedy) Jessie and Katie lived the joy and magic that only First Loves could bring. 

But this story is not about the magic of First Loves. It is about its **endurance** and **faith**. It is not realistic to think that Jessie and Katie would have ridden towards the sunset. High school romance hardly ever lasts - and if they did, those are the exception to the norm. **Life happens**. If Romeo and Juliet had survived their families' warfare, they would have had to face the inevitability of change. They would have had to grow up. They would have had to accept the test of time.

And so like the rest of us, life would have eventually happened to Jessie and Katie. And time would work its magic but would also take the magic away from First Loves. This story is about two people who really loved each other and allowed time to take its course. They did not fight what life had to offer. They grew up. But they never forgot each other and they never stopped loving each other. Not even time could take that away from them. But time had also added layers to their hearts - like rings that form around a tree - and it's up to them to find what time had hidden away. 

This story is about the struggle of finding their way back to each other. You can fill in the blanks. 

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CHAPTER 1: Dr. Jessie Sammler, M.D.

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

Boston, MA

Thursday

"Dr. Sammler, your stepsister Zoe just called. She wanted to make sure you can meet her for lunch," the desk clerk at Massachusetts General Pediatric Unit just called out. 

"Thanks, Ruth," Jessie replied as she scribbled some notes in Robin Garvin's medical file before she handed it to the desk clerk. She looked at her watch to make sure that she had enough time to do her rounds before she left for the afternoon.

"Who's the attending covering for me?" she asked Ruth. She had to make sure that the Unit was covered before she left. Zoe was getting married and she was going to be one of the bridesmaids. 

"Dr. Ribizi," Ruth replied after checking the board.

"Thanks, I'll see you next Wednesday," Jessie answered.

She was the only attending on call for the last five days, and somehow, she still could not figure out why it seemed that half of all the babies in Boston got sick whenever she was around. She smiled; she loved her job. 

After finishing high school in Australia, where they moved when her father got a huge contract to build the new Melbourne Symphony Hall, Jessie attended Northwestern University before moving to Boston to go to Harvard Medical. Mass General had been her second home ever since; her father was half a world away and her mother still lived in Sinclair.

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Zoe, who went to Wellesley College, had also settled in the Boston area. She was an analyst for Fidelity Investments, along with Jeff Sanborn, her classmate from Harvard Business School. After going out for 7 years, the couple was finally getting married that weekend in Sinclair. 

"Hey, Z", Jessie called to Zoe as she sat by the window of the Prudential Tower overlooking downtown Boston. "Sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?"

"It's okay, Jess. I've only been here for 15 minutes and I was on the phone most of the time. The Dow is tanking again and Jack wanted to make sure he had all the numbers before he sold some Ruthers stocks," Zoe said as she continued to check her wireless Palm Pilot. Jack was the funds manager for the Columbus Fund, one of the biggest mutual funds in the world, and Zoe was one of his top analysts.

"So, you're ready for the big day? What time is our flight? When is Jeff leaving?" asked Jessie.

"We're not due at the airport until 5 p.m. Oh, and Jeff is not leaving until tomorrow. His mother was waiting for the necklace she ordered from Biddles," Zoe replied. Jeff's mother was a descendant of the Mayflower and belonged to every exclusive country club in Boston, a benefit of being a Brahmin. 

"Good, I just want to pass by Newbury Street to get something for Ryan," Jessie sighed. Ryan was her godson, Grace and August's youngest son. 

After getting her journalism undergraduate and master's degree from Columbia, Grace worked as an editor at Simon and Shuster. One of their best selling authors was August Dimitri who had won a Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems, "The Song of the Dawn." Grace and August got married 10 years ago and now lived in an apartment overlooking Central Park. Zoe and Jessie visited them whenever they could, but since Jessie became an attending, her schedule had gotten more and more insane. Grace just finished editing her husband's latest book, "The Mistress Revisited: A John Donne Anthology".

"So, you really are not bringing a date to my wedding, huh, Jess? What about Tad? He just got divorced, and of course, he's invited to the wedding," Zoe winked at Jessie. 

Jessie just looked at the glass of wine that the waiter had just brought over, and smiled. She had been back to Sinclair several times, and the only person she wanted to see didn't live there anymore. 

After high school, Katie went to Kings' College at Oxford University. They called each other and exchanged emails for a while, but the distance between England and Australia just seemed so… big. And then the calls and the emails dwindled… and stopped altogether by the time Jessie was a sophomore at Northwestern. As far as she knew, Katie had stayed in London where she was a tenured professor at the London School of Economics. Pretty good for someone who was only 36 years old.

"You still think about her, don't you?" Zoe asked thoughtfully. 

Jessie just looked up sadly. She had never stopped thinking of Katie. She had dated men in college, and a few in medical school. But none of them ever made her heart flutter the same way that Katie did. At 34, Jessie was resigned to taking care of other people's babies. And Katie… she had tried to put the memories at the back of her mind, but at the end of every shift, when every muscle in her body was aching and she was too tired to even fall sleep… she thought of Katie and all the times they shared and somehow, that always calmed her down. She could always fall asleep contentedly when she thought of Katie.

She never stopped thinking about Katie.

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SINCLAIR HILTON

Saturday Afternoon

The wedding reception was just winding down, and Jessie had been talking to her brother Eli, a talent manager based in NYC. Eli managed some of the most successful bands in the country, and he occasionally jammed with "Rivers", a jazz group he formed while he was a student at NYU. Eli was with Sarah, his wife, a classical cellist with the New York Symphony, and their sons Johnny and Billy.

Billie. 

Jessie smiled silently as she heard her nephew's name, like something just wrapped itself around her heart, choking and caressing it at the same time - the painful kind of happy.

"You'd never guess who I ran into in Manhattan, Jess," Eli excitedly remembered. "Katie! Your former girlfriend, Katie! Or should I say Dr. Singer?"

"You did?" Jess asked anxiously. She felt her ears burning and her cheeks turning red.

"Yes! She had just moved back to the States and now works for the United Nations. I think she also mentioned teaching at NYU Graduate School."

Jessie shifted, trying to hide her excitement, while waiting for Eli to spew out more.

Eli tried to assess his little sister's face and marveled that after all these years, she still could not hide her feelings very well. Dr. Jessie Sammler, Harvard Medical School graduate, respected doctor, still jumping at the sound of her high school girlfriend's name.

"She asked about you. She's looking good, Jess. No ring on her finger, no babe or anything. She's still as skinny as a pole, though, but has not lost her sense of humor. She mentioned something about a global macroenomic research she submitted to Mad Magazine for publication, " Eli smiled as he examined his sister even more intensely.

Jessie laughed as she remembered Katie's funny and sometimes real nonsensical remarks. Katie always made her laugh. Now, even from afar, Katie could still make her laugh.

"Uhm, and she asked for your number," Eli added, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"She did?!" Jessie asked as her eyes widened. "Did you give it to her?"

Eli paused and smiled. Ah, he could still torture his sister after all these years by just giving her the Eli poker face. He stood up, just smiling at Jessie, while his sister looked at him with disdain, and as he turned to get some more drinks, he looked back and winked at Jessie, and said, "Pager, mobile, hospital, home numbers, and email address."

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	2. This Old Room

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Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie

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Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

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Chapter 2: This Old Room

KAREN'S HOUSE

That Same Day

Jessie smiled as her mom sat beside her, bringing milk and cookies. Eli and Sarah and the kids chose to stay in the city for the weekend before they fly back to New York on Sunday afternoon, but Jessie always stayed with her mother whenever she was in town.

Jessie put her head on her mother's shoulder while Karen put her arms around her. At that moment, she was little Jessie again, safe in her mother's arms. And Karen thought that Jessie would always be her baby. 

"Honey, where are Zoe and Jeff going for their honeymoon?" Karen inquired.

"I am not sure, but it's either the Mediterranean or the Far East," Jessie said without looking up.

"Lily did a nice job, planning the wedding long distance. It was nice to see everyone there. Oh, your dad and Lily are moving back to Sinclair. Next month I think. I guess they just want to retire here," Karen continued.

"I know, Mom, dad emails me all the time," said Jessie.

They were quiet for a while, watching a repeat of Saturday Night Live, laughing sometimes, but mostly just enjoying the moment, revering in the stillness of the company. So many things have changed, and yet, they stayed the same. Karen was now a circuit judge in Chicago, and doted on her 2 grandsons. She never re-married although came close a couple of times. She was also on the Board of Booklovers.Com, the world's largest and most profitable on-line bookstore founded by Judy. After buying Amazon, Judy decided to step down as CEO but remained chief of the Booklovers chain of bookstores. 

"Honey, when will I get to plan a wedding?" Karen broke the silence. She knew that Jessie would not answer, but still, she had to ask. "Any kind of wedding?" Please?"

Jessie looked up and started tickling her mother and they both started to laugh, and then the phone rang. It was almost 11 o'clock, almost midnight in the East Coast. Nobody was allowed to call Karen after 9 at night, except her children. As she grew older, Karen became more and more entrenched in her routines that made her life as organized as it could be. Jessie wondered if it was someone from the hospital; she left her mother's phone number at the desk in case of emergency, and her mobile phone had been off the whole weekend.

"Hello?" Jessie answered. Despite all the technology available in 2022, Karen still did not have a videophone or caller ID. What for, she used to ask, when the only people who knew her phone number were the people who mattered.

"Hello?" Jessie asked once more, before hanging up the phone. "Hung up. Probably a wrong number."

"Well, I am going to bed. Goodnight, honey," Karen said as she stood up and gave Jessie a kiss on the forehead. "We're having brunch with your brother tomorrow."

"Night, mom," Jessie kissed her mother back. 

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JESSIE'S OLD ROOM

Jessie looked around – her mother had kept her room the way it was when she left Sinclair. Aside from the new mattress and latest electronic gadgets, her posters and her picture frames were still where she left them. She looked at an old paper flower, wrapped in plastic, in a vase by her dresser. 

She smiled as she remembered the day Katie gave her that paper flower, an art project, a gift from the heart. She absently touched the flower, now yellow and old. Behind the vase was a picture of 2 girls, hugging each other. They both looked very happy, Jessie thought, you could REALLY see it in their eyes. 

She did not know how long she stood by the dresser, staring at the picture and the flower, a floodgate opening in her brain. She knew the drill – that floodgate always opened whenever she came home – she would stare for a while, tears streaming down her face, happy, melancholic tears. And she would be carrying this gape in her heart for a few days until the reality of her life took over again. 

She did not hear Karen walking to her half-opened door, peeking in.

"I saw your light still on," Karen said softly.

Jessie did not answer, it was almost 1 in the morning, and she was very tired from the wedding and the reception. Her mind was as empty as a vacuum, yet her heart was so full of memories, sad, happy memories. 

"Oh honey," Karen said as she walked towards Jessie. She knew that look, she knew that posture, and she knew that Jessie was as lost as she had been that day she announced that she and Katie had broken up. 

"Eli saw her, mom. She now lives in New York, " Jessie whispered. "I think of her all the time, yet I knew that we were on different continents, different time zones. That realization made the memories more bearable."

Karen stared lovingly at Jessie, her hand on Jessie's shoulder. She also knew enough not to say anything, she only needed to listen. Oh, her heart was breaking as she watched her little girl go through the pain of it all.

"But now, she's 4 hours away! Suddenly, she is real again and not some ghost from the past that I had treasured, hidden away in the depths of my heart," Jessie continued. "She abandoned me, she forgot all about me, she outgrew me. And I thought I outgrew her, mom, but I did not need to; she grew with me, she stayed with me. Every time something good happens to me, I wish she was there to share it with, and listen to her stupid retorts. And every time something bad came along, she was the only person I really wanted to be with."

"Jessie, honey, I know. I see it in your eyes and I hear it in your voice. I have never seen you as happy as you were when you were with Katie," Karen said softly, wiping away the tears from Jessie's eyes.

"Mom, I have never stopped loving her," Jessie said as she hugged her mother. Karen knew that as well, Jessie did not have to say anything. Every time Jessie came home, she always noticed some dried tears by the dresser, and on the picture and the flower. 

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BEAR'S BAR

Chicago, IL

Monday Night

"Dr. Sammler, " called out Tad and Russell, as Jessie made her way through the Sports bar. Tad was a lawyer in private practice, and Russell was now a Lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department.

"Hey, boys! It's so nice to see you!" Jessie said as she excitedly sat down. 

The trio ordered burgers and fries and a pitcher of beer. They haven't seen each other since Grace's wedding ten years ago, also in Sinclair. They sent each other the required Christmas cards and called on each other's birthdays, and that had kept them in touch all throughout. They had completely given up on calling and seeing each other more often, as their own respective lives got in the way.

"And Alexa wanted the house, wanted sole custody of the kids, wanted the summer house, and I said no way! She was the one who was cheating, she makes more money than I, and I am a lawyer!" chucked Tad. 

"So, are you dating now?" Jessie asked while continuing to munch on her fries. I am giving myself a cholesterol overdose, she thought.

"He dates anyone younger than 21!" exclaimed Russell. "You know who was in town? Katie Singer!" Russell continued. "She had to give a lecture at the University of Chicago, and she called me up for coffee!"

"When did Katie leave for Oxford again?" Tad asked.

"2003," Jessie softly answered without looking up. "She spent a semester at the University of Chicago before her father got transferred to London."

"Yeah, remember, we had a party for her at Sarah Grasser's house! Katie was pissed," Russell chuckled some more. "Hey, but Sarah insisted!"

Jessie kept silent throughout this repartee. She knew about the party. She knew about Oxford. She hoped to visit Katie in the UK. She hoped to be with her at Oxford, she actually tried, but her parents were adamant on her going to Northwestern. Jessie called whenever she could, but the time difference and the rigors of studying took their toll. She would still be in school whenever Katie called, and Katie would be asleep by the time she called. And emails did not have the same warmth that Katie's hand on hers could bring.

"Oh, anyway, Katie looked me up the phone directory, called home, got me at the precinct, and we met for coffee. That was 2 weeks ago," Russell continued. "She was only in town for 2 days and had to fly back to New York. But she promised to stay longer next time."

Russell and Tad then talked about the ruckus that the three of them – Katie, Russell, and Tad – caused together. They were a team, and they acted so silly together. Russell and Tad never thought of Katie as a girl, just one of the gang. They laughed, amused at the memories. Jessie just listened to them, fondly remembering her girlfriend who commanded the affection of anyone who knew her.

And watching Tad and Russell, she was amused with the fact that no matter how far all of them have gone, they still laughed at the same silly things when they were together. 

Then Russell gazed at Jessie, and said with conviction, "She is not with anyone, Jess. She just broke up with her latest squeeze, some artist from SoHo or something." 

Jessie pretended to be surprised, although she wasn't really. Through the years, whenever she got together with anyone from Sinclair, the conversation would eventually lead to Katie and her latest conquest. There was a model from Paris and an Olympic skier from Switzerland and a violinist from New York and an actress from London. She never kept track, she did not seek out the information. She was busy becoming a doctor and she couldn't afford to chase any other dream.

"Hey Jess – how about giving Katie a full physical," Tad said as he winked at Jessie.

"You are still so stupid, Tad! I am a pediatric surgeon, I don't do physical on adults!" Jessie said seriously, as though Tad actually meant what he said.

"Just suggesting… you know, you 2 were the hottest couple on Campus!" Tad defended his stupidity. And then he remembered that the topic of "Jessie and Katie" was not exactly welcome in Jessie's company, and he silently cursed himself for his gift of tactlessness.

They watched the baseball game on the TV monitors, interrupting each other periodically with some stupid recollection. They called it a night at 9 o'clock, and promised to call each other more often although they all knew it was not likely to happen, and then they went home to their respective lives.

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MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

Boston, MA

Wednesday

"Dr. Sammler, you have a phone call on line 2," Jessie heard over the PA. She was in the middle of a procedure, and she asked one of the nurses to take a message. 

She came back to work after a one week vacation, the longest she had taken since becoming an attending 2 years ago, and found her schedule full as it could be with urgent cases. This was her second to the last for the day, but she was still on call for the next 12 hours. 

"Did not leave a message, said she would call back," the nurse said after hanging up the phone. 

"Was it my stepsister?" Jessie wondered, as only Grace would call her in the hospital whenever Ryan wanted to talk to his godmother. And Jessie loved that – she needed the break and Ryan's innocence always provided that.

"Nope," the nurse just said and they proceeded to finish up the surgery. 

Jessie looked at the clock on the wall – it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, she should be done with the last procedure by 5 and then she could bike home to her condo on Beacon Hill and crash. She had been in the hospital since 5 am and would be on call until the following morning, but she could always benefit from a 2-hour nap and a warm shower before she goes back to the hospital.

Jessie walked over to the desk to hand over the chart to Ruth, the desk clerk, before she prepped for the last procedure of the day. She noticed the bouquet of yellow roses sitting by the desk; it must be somebody's birthday, she thought.

"Oh, Dr. Sammler, this came for you," Ruth called her back as she started walking away.

"For me?" Jessie wondered, as she took the bouquet and brought it to the doctor's lounge. She took out the card, her brows furrowed as she read it:

"Billie – I have come back home. Love, Billie"

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	3. Go For It

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Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

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CHAPTER 3: Go For It

NEW YORK, NY

That Same Day

Katie hung up the phone and looked out at the East River from her office at the UN Economic Council on 42nd street. Eli said that Jessie would be back at work that day, and she should have gotten the flowers she sent by now. 

As she looked out her window, she wondered why she was feeling the same adolescent anxiety that she did 20 years ago when she asked Grace to give Jessie that letter after their English class. She knew that Jessie was not with anyone; Eli told her. She also had lunch with Grace, who gave her Karen's home phone number and told her that Jessie was staying with her mother after the wedding.

She looked at all the numbers that Eli gave her – despite all the telecommunication means available to man – there was one thing Katie did not have: the strength to talk to Jessie.

So she turned off her videophone camera when she called Karen's house, and hung up when she heard Jessie's voice. She could not leave a message at the hospital because she could not bear it if Jessie never called her back. 

She had gone so far and come so far and she knew she had hurt the only person she really ever loved. But Oxford was intoxicating and London was more so, and she had to numb the pain she felt being so far away from Jessie and not being able to do anything about it. So she did it the only way she knew how – she started going out with whomever caught her fancy. And she was never at a lost for girlfriends – she broke one heart after another, dumping this one for the next in a long line of successive girlfriends.

After being accepted as a fellow at All Soul's in Oxford, she decided she had played around long enough and concentrated on her doctoral dissertation. She worked like a maniac while at the same time taking the responsibility of advising a few undergraduates. She needed something to fill the gap in her life – after awhile, she did not even remember why there was this gap that never seemed to disappear. It was only when she stopped long enough that she remembered that the gap had a name – Jessie.

Her hard work paid off – her dissertation, titled "The Mid East Oil Oligopoly and the Economics of Terrorism" was picked up by Oxford for publication in its monthly review. She had to rewrite some chapters so each one could stand on its own, but her name had been added to the pantheon of the 21st century's most important economists. 

Several job offers followed – some of them from American Universities – but she decided to stay in the UK. After only 2 years, the London School of Economics granted her tenure, and at 29, she was one of the youngest tenured professors in the prestigious institution.

She also held a seat at the European Economic Council and traveled regularly to Switzerland and Belgium for meetings. Along the way, she met several women, some of whom moved in with her in her 2-bedroom flat along the Thames. The first few months were blissful, she was in love, or so she thought, and then she would start drifting away… she did not know what was wrong with her, but she always felt so restless… always felt that something was missing from her life. 

And then the call from the UN Economic Council came. She loved the world of academia, she loved teaching and then meeting her former students as equals in Economic Conventions all over the world. But she was also one of the world's leading experts on Middle East Economics and the UN needed her. 

So, after 19 years in the UK, she came back to the US to stay. Her reputation preceded her and NYU was very grateful to grant her adjunct professorship. NYU just wanted some of her research work published with the NYU affiliation underneath. That was always good for more grant and alumni money. She had been in NY for 3 months now.

She kept her flat in London – she did not really consciously know why, but at the back of her mind, she always knew it was because she wanted Jessie to come and stay with her in London, as they planned 20 years ago.

She had a few friends who now lived in NYC, and they sometimes go to the Symphony whenever their schedules allowed. A week ago, she bumped into Eli Sammler – at Carnegie Hall, of all places! Eli's wife was playing Beethoven's 9th that night. They ditched the 2nd half of the concert and went to the Russian Tea Room next door to catch up. Of course she asked for Jessie's numbers, and Grace's, who also now lived in Manhattan.

"Dr. Singer? Ambassador Tarik from Saudi Arabia is here to see you," Helen, her secretary, interrupted her thoughts.

"Thank you, Helen. Please send him in," she said.

"No problem. Do you need anything else?" Helen asked.

"Can you please see if you can get me a room at the Ritz in Boston from tomorrow through Sunday?" Katie said while looking at her calendar.

"You're taking tomorrow and Friday off?" Helen inquired. She needed to know where her boss was all the time, in case the UN Secretary General or someone equally important needed her.

"I'm thinking about it," Katie said, still checking her calendar, and deciding that nothing important was really on the roster.

"Okay. Do you want the car service to drive you to Boston?" Helen asked. The UN provided limo car service to their most valued personnel.

"No, I can drive. I need to practice driving on the wrong side of the road anyway," Katie chuckled as Helen left her office. "Oh, and Helen, can you please call Grace Dimitri for me and tell her I can make it to dinner tonight? Thanks."

"Ah, Dr. Kathleen Singer, we meet again!" Ambassador Tarik fondly called out as he walked in and gave Katie a hug.

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DIMITRI'S CO-OP APARTMENT

East 72nd Street, New York, NY

That Same Night

"Say good-night to Aunt Katie," August admonished the kids, Emily, 7, and Ryan, 4 as they kissed Katie.

"Goodnight, Aunt Katie," the 2 kids said in unison. Katie looked at August Dimitri and thought that he actually looked decent without the long hair. But it had been 20 years, and this guy they used to call "Mr. Dimitri" was now a respected author and married to one of his former students. Twenty years could really change a lifetime, Katie thought.

"Night, Katie," August yelled out as he chased the 2 children to their bedrooms. They just finished dessert and Grace positioned herself by the balcony of their 15th floor, 3-bedroom co-op near Central Park. Katie put her blue blazer back on and sat next to Grace. Grace sipped her wine as she looked out to the park and the lights of the Upper West Side, while Katie looked out as well.

"So, did you call her?" Grace broke the silence and looked at Katie. Katie nodded then shook her head. "I hung up," she softly said. "I really did not know what to say… I mean… it's been 20 years! People change, Grace!"

Grace looked out again and smiled. She knew her stepsister, and she knew that Jessie never really forgot Katie. But she chose to keep silent at that moment, assessing the sincerity in Katie's voice. She did not want Jessie to get hurt again, because beneath that tough façade, Jessie remained as sensitive as ever.

"I sent her flowers today, though," Katie said later. "At the hospital." 

And then the phone rang and Grace picked up the phone. She saw from the tiny video screen that it was Jessie and she motioned Katie to stay away from the range of the tiny camera.

"Hey, Jess. How was your flight?" Grace asked. Katie looked on as Grace nodded and smiled. 

"Are you at the hospital?" Grace said while she held the phone. "Oh, she did?" Grace feigned surprise while throwing Katie a knowing smile. "Yeah, I know she's in NY. I met her for lunch before Zoe's wedding."

Katie walked back to the apartment while Grace continued her conversation with Jessie. She looked at the pictures on the piano, searching for that familiar smile and beautiful blue eyes, and there it was - a picture of Jessie in her blue scrubs. She picked up the picture and examined it more closely. Except for her hair, which was now shorter, Jessie hardly changed at all. Katie looked up and saw herself on the mirror – she was now wearing glasses and her hair pulled in a bun. With the navy blue suit and striped blue shirt underneath, she was a far cry from that lanky high school student who doted on Jessie. She actually looked all grown up, she thought.

"I didn't tell her you're here," Grace said as she walked back in from the balcony. "She kept asking what we talked about and how you look and, uhm, I swear, Dr. Sammler was 14 years old again! She was gabbing on and on about the flowers."

Katie looked at Grace and grinned, paused, before saying, "I'm going to Boston tomorrow, Grace. I'm going to see her. I need to know if she still loves me."

"Go for it," Grace told Katie. It was the same unsolicited advice she gave Jessie 20 years ago, during that bathroom fight. Grace thought that it was a turning point in their relationship, because she and Jessie, despite their simultaneous profession of hatred towards each other, actually had gotten closer after that incident.

Somehow, Grace validated the sincerity in Katie's voice, and protective as she was of her younger stepsister, she knew that Jessie never stopped loving Katie. And as she looked at Katie – this world-renowned economist – she saw the emptiness inside, the same emptiness that she always sensed in Jessie's smile. And looking at Katie, she realized that this was the other half of Jessie's puzzle, The Missing Piece that so many poets have written about through the ages. 

"Go for it," Grace repeated, as Katie looked at her, confused and anxious and excited. 

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	4. Katie's Lament

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

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CHAPTER 4: Katie's Lament

SUTTON PLACE

New York, NY

Thursday Morning

Katie waited for her Electric Ford Explorer while the parking attendant got it from the building garage. It was 6 o'clock in the morning and she did not want to hit the NY traffic. 

"Here you go, Miss Katie," the parking attendant said as he handed her the keys.

"Thanks, Jose. I'll see you later," Katie said as she put her luggage in the back of her SUV.

She proceeded to drive up FDR Drive to Triboro Bridge, the strains of Brahms emanating from her car stereo. She remembered that early August morning, 20 years ago, as Jessie and her family prepared for their afternoon flight to Melbourne Australia. 

She stayed over, their last night together. Neither of them slept very well. They mostly just held each other's hand and felt each other's face, and stared at each other's eyes. They did not talk much, they just tried to absorb as much as they could of each other, savoring every second and trying to take invisible photographs to take with them no matter where they went. They wanted the night to last forever, but dawn soon came.

Jessie opened her eyes; she must have fallen asleep. The first thing she saw were Katie's blue eyes, filled with tears, staring lovingly at her.

"I was watching you sleep," Katie softly whispered as she planted a quick kiss on Jessie's lips. "You always look so beautiful when you sleep."

Jessie smiled at her, wiped the tears from Katie's eyes, and held her close, real close, as if her very life depended on Katie's arms. They just lied there, silently gazing at each other's eyes, holding each other's hands.

"What time is it?" Jessie finally asked.

"Six o'clock," Katie sadly said. It was their last night together, and now the dawn had robbed them of forever. Katie wondered why the sun had to come up at all, when all she wanted was to lie next to Jessie forever. Her heart was breaking little by little, afraid that one more second would bring them nearer to that dreaded hour before Jessie had to leave. This was so unfair! Sunrise would never hold that much beauty in her eyes anymore, as she blamed it for even coming at all.

"I'll call you as soon as we get there," Jessie tried to reassure her. But soon they were both crying, not knowing when to stop, afraid that if they did, The Hour of Goodbyes would sneak up on them. And in between sobs, Jessie whispered to her, "Next time we spend the night together, we would be happy when the sun comes up. Because it means we have another day together."

"I love you, Billie, I will always love you," Katie said. And then they did not speak anymore, for really, there was nothing left to say.

As she merged into the New England Thruway, Katie realized that tears were streaming down her face. She had tried to forget that painful, sweet, innocent morning, she had buried it deep in the recesses of her heart. The world of goodbyes was just not her cup of tea. She tried to forget that first night after Jessie had left. She dialed the Manning's phone number, blindly expecting someone to pick up the phone. But it just kept on ringing and the emptiness she felt as she listened was unbearable. She cried herself to sleep that night. And although Tad and Russell were very thoughtful of her pain and tried to entertain her as much as they could, they knew that their buddy was hurting more than she wanted them to see. When she finally thought that she could move on, she grabbed the chance and went away, as far away as she could and resolved that she would never ever feel that bad and hurt and broken again.

But over the last 20 years, whenever she saw the sunrise, she always looked up and whispered to the sky, "I love you, Billie, I will always love you."

==============================================

MASS. GENERAL, Boston

Later That Afternoon

Jessie was in her office updating charts and reviewing elective cases and catching up on her reading. She was on call and miraculously, her beeper had not gone off the whole afternoon. Once in a while, she would look up and see the bouquet of yellow roses on her desk and she hated the fact that she would catch herself smiling.

She looked at her watch and decided to call her mother; she was probably in her chambers by now, as it was almost 5 o'clock.

"Hi, mom. Are you done with all your cases?" she said.

"Yes honey, I am getting ready to go home. What time are you getting off?" Karen asked on the other line.

"Well, I am off at five, but I am trying to catch up on my charts, plus I want to start writing the Johnson baby case for the New England Journal of Medicine," Jessie said as she continued to survey the stack of charts on her desk.

"Well, don't stay too late, honey."

"I won't mom, I'll probably take some work home. I am not on the graveyard shift until next week, can you believe it?"

"Well, do something fun, honey. Go out to dinner with your friends, go see a movie," Karen worriedly suggested.

"Mom… you know my idea of fun is 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep," Jessie chuckled. "Uhm, Mom, Katie sent me some flowers," Jessie added solemnly.

The other line was silent until Karen said, "Oh, she did? How do you feel about it? Had she tried to call you?"

"I don't know how I feel about it, Mom. I am happy and sad and angry at the same time," Katie said as she sighed, looking at the flowers again.

"After all these years, Katie could still bring out all those emotions in you, couldn't she?" 

"Grace said she looked good, a little older like the rest of us, but still the same Katie with her puppy eyes and stupid sense of humor. They had lunch last week."

"Oh," Karen did not know what to say. She thought that if Katie had contacted Grace, Jessie would not be far behind, and she would never ever want to see Jessie hurt again. 

"Don't worry mom," Jessie said as she sensed her mother's reservations. "It's been 20 years, so much water has passed under the bridge. I will be cool if I ever see her."

"Take care of your heart, honey," was all Karen could say.

Jessie spent the rest of the afternoon shift finishing charts. There must have been at least 20 on her desk! She did not realize that it was almost 7 o'clock until she felt that pang of hunger. I better go home, she thought. She proceeded to put her things in her backpack and headed for the elevator.

She was still lost in thoughts as she walked through the main lobby of the hospital. And then she looked up and saw that face. She knew that face. She could pick up that face anywhere in a sea of faces. She stood, paralyzed, as she stared in utter disbelief. For God knows how long, she just stood there, unable to put one foot in front of the other.

And then Katie walked towards her, holding a paper flower in her hand.

========================


	5. Walking in Boston

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

****

CHAPTER 5: Walking in Boston

LOBBY OF MASS. GEN. MAIN BUILDING

Boston, MA

"I made this for you from my art class. There was a whole bunch of them but…" Katie said, smiling, as she walked towards Jessie. She had one hand in the pocket of her slacks; it was already May but her hands were as cold as it had ever been on a cold February morning. 

Katie had arrived in Boston early that afternoon. She tried to order some room service from her hotel room at the Ritz overlooking the Boston Common, but there was more than hunger buzzing in her stomach. She lied on the bed, tried to get some sleep, but her mind was going at a hundred miles per hour. She tried to watch some daytime shows, but the images on the plasma screen were speaking a foreign language, or so it seemed.

Finally, she looked out the window. She could see the hospital from where she was, just off the Charles River. She stared and stared, half expecting to see a sign from the building assuring her that everything would be okay. Why did Jessie have to leave? Why didn't she stay with her mother? Or her grandparents, or heck, even Judy? Why did Jessie "abandon" her? All the feelings that she had buried underneath made their way back into her head, and after a while, she felt intoxicated by this tidal wave of questions unanswered. 

She sat on the bed and took a paper from the stationery desk, and automatically started folding it into a paper flower. She did not know how long it took her – it seemed like forever. She could glance at complex econometric models without blinking, but how difficult could it be to make a stupid paper flower? 

And then she smiled… the flower looked… like a flower. Everything is going to be okay, she thought. She took a shower, puller her hair in a pony tail, put on a pair of old khaki slacks, a white cotton shirt, and her faded Oxford sweatshirt. She did not need to dress up, she wanted Jessie to see her the way she always thought whom she really was. 

She took her time walking through the Common, smiling whenever she saw some teenage girls laughing and talking like there was no tomorrow. The main receptionist gave her directions to the Pediatric Medicine Unit on the 5th Floor of the Main building, and when she got out of the elevator and walked towards the floor reception desk, she swore her heart had made its way up to her throat. Ruth the receptionist pointed her towards an office down the hallway, where the glass door said "Dr. Jessica E. Sammler, M.D.", but she decided to wait downstairs in the main lobby. Ruth assured her that Jessie would be out by around 5, and it was almost 5. Katie did not really care… she had waited 20 years to see Jessie again, surely she could wait another few hours.

"Katie…" Jessie whispered as she stared at this woman before her. Except for the glasses and a few extra pounds – God knows Katie could have used them while in high school – before her was the only person who looked at her and looked through her and saw through every unspoken corner of her soul and still loved her just the same.

Katie put the paper flower in Jessie's coat pocket – she was still wearing her hospital coat as the breeze in Boston could still be a little chilly in May – took her hand and led her out of the fluorescent-lit cavern of the Main Building.

It was still bright outside as they walked out towards the street, Katie still holding her hand. Jessie did not know what to think or feel, it's like the whole background faded and every person and car and tree was a blur and she was being a spectator in her own dream. Finally, Katie stopped walking, turned around and faced her, still holding her hand. Jessie did not know how long they stood there, but it was like an eternity – the good kind of eternity where you just want it to never end. 

Katie put her hands around Jessie and held her. They were both crying, they were both laughing, they did not know where to begin, but it did not really matter. For that one sweet moment, nothing else really mattered.

"You want to get something to eat or drink?" Katie finally asked, "I am staying at the Ritz, if you want to go there."

"What are you doing in town?" Jessie finally asked, reality rushing back to her head. 

"I came to see you," Katie answered. "You know, I still did not believe when they told me that you are a doctor, a medical doctor. I thought you wanted to be a chef or something."

Jessie smiled, "You too are a doctor, though."

"A fake one," Katie added. "Jess, I have been up since 5 this morning, I have not had anything to eat or drink other than a few cups of coffee and some overpriced room service soup…"

"You just described my daily life, except for the room service part," Jessie interrupted. "It was worse when I was a resident. I did not even know the time of day and if I had exceeded the legal limit for daily caffeine intake."

Katie laughed as they continued to walk west towards the park, towards Beacon Hill. "Uhm, Jessie, about food…"

"Let's go to my place first so I can drop off these things and change. Like you, I have been up since 5 this morning," Jessie quipped nervously. She wondered if her cleaning lady had come this week at all. "Or I can throw something together really quick, so we don't have to bother with the happy hour crowd. I still could be a chef, you know."

"Okay," Katie replied, wondering what Jessie's place looked like, what they would talk about. She knew that Jessie was equally happy to see her, but like her, she also sensed the pain of the last 20 years, the pain that she had come to accept as a part of her existence, like a stump after you lose a limb, except of course, neither one of them ever actually lost a limb.

==================

JESSIE'S CONDO

Beacon Hill, Boston

"It's a mess…" Jessie finally realized that her cleaning lady was not due to come in until next week. 

"Definitely not as messy as the attic," Katie quickly answered, referring to Katie's room at the Manning House.

Jessie ignored that one, and proceeded to flip through the mail quickly. "Make yourself at home," she called out to Katie as she put the mail and her backpack on the table and went to the bedroom to quickly change.

Katie looked around the place. It was rustic, with a working fireplace and exposed brick walls. Jessie had sparsely decorated the place, some very tasteful posters, fresh flowers on the coffee table, a stack of medical journals by the mantle. Katie walked towards the Bang and Olufsen stereo system by the corner. She flipped through the remote and pushed play. 

Billie Holiday.

Katie smiled – Jessie still had the CD she gave her 20 years ago. What more, it was actually in the system, which meant that Jessie had been listening to it. Of course, the system had several other albums ready to be played. But it didn't matter, Billie Holiday was softly crooning as dusk started to settle in.

Jessie came out, all dressed down in slacks and t-shirt and a red pullover. It was always chilly in Boston. She threw a suspicious look at Katie as she realized that she was so busted… Billie Holiday had given her away. But she decided to "act cool" – she promised her mother she would, and went to the kitchen to pour Katie a glass of bottled water.

"I will offer you some alcohol, but it's not really advisable if you have not had anything to eat. Your system would absorb the alcohol more easily and without anything else to process, your liver or pancreas could spew out chemicals to protect itself and in the process throw you violently ill," Jessie said as she worked towards Katie handing her the glass.

Katie smiled. She could listen to Jessie talk medicine forever, and it would not bore her a bit. "Thank you, doctor," she said as she took the glass.

Jessie sat on the armchair and motioned Katie to sit on the sofa. She was being cool, she thought. 

"How long are you staying in town?" Jessie asked once more, subconsciously trying to plan her days around Katie's.

"I'm driving back on Sunday," Katie replied as she sipped some water and took some pretzel.

And they just sat there, not even knowing whether the silence was the awkward kind or the kind that spoke to both of them. But it had been so long, 20 years, and neither of them could really remember which was which.

Finally, Jessie stood up, walked to the kitchen, and then called out to Katie, "Dr. Singer, would you care to join me as I take you into the wonderful world of Jessie's culinary expertise?"

=================================

It was almost 10, and Katie and Jessie just put the last plate in the dishwasher. They made some pasta and salad and Jessie opened a bottle of 1985 merlot, hardly a culinary experience but Katie thought that she had never had pasta that good, not even in Italy. 

"What do you usually do on Thursday evenings, Dr. Sammler?" Katie asked as they both walked back to the living room.

"Oh, usually I sleep. I am so tired and I have to be back early at the hospital, sleep was the only luxury I could ever have time for," Jessie answered.

Katie looked at Jessie, wondering if it was her cue to go back to her hotel and leave her former girlfriend alone. Finally, she put her sweater back and checked if she had everything in her purse, until she felt a tug on her elbow. She looked back and Jessie was staring at her, examining her face, until finally saying, "I have a lot of new toothbrush… you don't have to go back to the hotel."

========================

Later That Night

Katie lied awake next to Jessie, who was sleeping soundly beside her. She smiled – Jessie still wore those pajamas with cute animal print. In fact, she was also wearing some herself – Jessie pulled some fresh pajamas for her to wear. 

She looked at the girl lying next to her who still looked like the little angel she used to hold in her arms. She softly brushed away some hair that had fallen on Jessie's face, careful not to wake her up. 

Oh how she wanted to take Jessie in her arms, feel her lips against hers, but the moment seemed too holy for the both of them. She just looked at Jessie, before softly kissing her forehead before she settled to go to sleep. She smiled because tomorrow, she would wake up and she would be happy because they would have another day together.

=========================

Friday Morning, 8:00 a.m.

Katie opened her eyes and looked around her. It took awhile before she realized that she was in Jessie's condo, on Jessie's bed, wearing Jessie's pajamas. Except Jessie was not around. Beside her were a yellow rose and a note: 

"Shift starts at 7, but will try to be back early. Please call me when you wake up.'

Katie reached out for her eyeglasses and stood up to go to the bathroom to wash her face. She went to the kitchen and as she passed the dining table, there was a set of keys with another note: "Round key for the main door, 2 square keys for the top bolt and lock." She smiled as she reached for the phone and called Jessie at the hospital.

==========================

MASS. GENERAL

Boston, MA

Jessie was with a patient and a resident when her pager went off; she excused herself went to the phone and dialed the receptionist's number.

"Dr. Sammler, Dr. Singer on line 3 for you," Ruth said.

Jessie smiled. Dr Singer, the fake doctor, she thought, as she pushed the blinking light. The resident was standing right next to her, so she tried to sound professional, "Dr. Sammler," she said before she broke into a big wide smile.

The resident watched Dr. Sammler smiled and laughed like a high school girl. Dr. Sammler had always been very nice to him and had always been very compassionate and open with patients… but he did not see her smile at lot, much less hear her laugh. Dr. Sammler had a pretty smile, he thought, before he turned back to talk to the patient's mother.

After a few minutes, Jessie walked back to the bed and sat right next to the patient, a little girl named Morgan. Dr. Henley, the resident, could not help but notice that lingering smile on Dr. Sammler's face. Muscle reflex, he thought. 

"So Morgan, the pain in your belly has gone away? Do you think you can go home soon?" Jessie asked the girl as if she was an adult ready to make a decision.

"The stitches still hurt…" Morgan whispered, looking at the bandages on her stomach.

Jessie gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and whispered, "The stitches hurt because your skin is healing and it's pulling the stitches away. We'll take them out soon, okay, honey?"

"Okay…" Morgan called out.

Jessie smiled as she walked away with the resident. 

"Dr. Henley, I think you can take out Morgan's stitches tomorrow. Discharge her after but make sure they come back next week for a follow-up," Jessie said without looking up, still busy scribbling some notes on Morgan's chart before handing it to the resident.

"Ruth, I need some comp time. How many do I have?" Jessie asked as she approached the desk.

The receptionist was rattled – Dr. Sammler had so many accrued vacation days she could practically take off for 2 months and the hospital would still have to pay her. She quickly checked the file and called out "Twenty eight days. Do you want me to schedule some vacation time for you next week?"

"Nope," Jessie answered. "I'm taking them now. Be back Monday after next. Please tell Dr. Garrett that I am taking some time off. Dr. Casey is the attending on call while I am gone. I already spoke to him this morning and he agreed to cover for me. Oh, and no phone calls." 

"Did Dr. Garrett approve this before hand?" Ruth wondered as Jessie walked towards the doctor's lounge to put her pager and hospital coat and hospital-issued stethoscope and other doctor paraphernalia into her locker.

"Nope. Don't have to. He owes me. Just tell him when I'll be back." And Ruth was surprised at this sudden burst of life from this beautiful doctor who until yesterday seemed like she wanted to cry every time she looked up.

Jessie needed to talk to Katie. She did not know what Katie want, and she was not going to play any more games. And she wanted to talk now, because she had waited 20 years to do so. She was happy to see Katie, God knows her heart was ready to burst. But she was also ready to let go, that very moment, let go of everything that Katie represented in her life, because now she knew that she still would not disintegrate into dust in the presence, the actual, physical presence, of Katie.

Oh, she was confused. Like that day in the attic 20 years ago.

==========================


	6. The Cabin in Vermont

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

****

CHAPTER 6: The Cabin in Vermont

STOWE, VERMONT

Later That Afternoon

Jessie took out the last remaining grocery bags from the red Ford Explorer to the cabin by the lake. She co-owned this cabin with Grace and Zoe; it was in a pristine development near some of the best ski resorts in the Vermont area. Sometimes, Eli and his family would spend a week in the cabin, and Grace and August usually stayed for 2 weeks around January for their annual family ski vacation, but mostly, Jessie drove up alone whenever she could find the time just to read and talk to the locals in town and walk along the lake. She had never missed an autumn without driving up to the cabin. And spring was equally pungent, with the smell of magnolia and fresh pine permeating the logs.

It was almost dusk, as they did not leave Boston until early afternoon. Jessie passed by Bread and Circus to pick up some groceries for the weekend, things that they would not find in the local stores in Vermont. Katie picked up her things and SUV from the Ritz and spent a good portion of the drive up on some conference call with some diplomats and economists all over the world.

Jessie drove Katie's SUV, which was equipped with the latest GPS map and video-satellite telephone. Occasionally, Jessie glanced at Katie who was busy punching numbers in her laptop before arguing some more against the latest reduction in oil production proposed by OPEC. Once in a while, Katie would scream something in Arabic, then French, or so it seemed to Jessie, and she could not help but smile at the intelligence and resolve of her friend. Katie still kicked butt.

"Helen, I am turning off my mobile phone now. Please don't call me…" Katie playfully said to her secretary before throwing the phone at the back of the vehicle.

There were several bedrooms in the cabin, some of them with fireplaces. They had a cleaning person come twice a month to make sure the linens were fresh and the place was clean and the chimneys swept. Jessie put Katie's things in one of the two bedrooms with its own bathroom, while she claimed the other one.

====================

Katie came down around seven, freshly showered and wearing an oversized sweatshirt and jogging pants. She was still trying to dry her long blonde hair with the Egyptian cotton towel that was neatly folded over her bed, and she saw that Jessie had made the fire and was sitting on the carpeted floor, appearing hypnotized by the embers.

Despite that 3-hour conference call that surely bothered Jessie, she thought, Katie was acutely aware of Jessie's solemn face and sad smile. She knew that face, she always saw it when Jessie was confused and scared. She did not know why Jessie had suggested that they go up to the cabin, but any assurance of an easy reconciliation vanished from her mind when Jessie put her things in a separate bedroom. 

Yes, nothing good could ever be so easy, she thought. And the 20 years between them was just that – 20 human years. 

She sat across the floor from Jessie and between them was an antique coffee table. It might as well be the Atlantic Ocean, as it seemed that way while Katie examined Jessie's face, still mesmerized by the fire, still looking as sad and confused. And all she wanted to do was to take Jessie in her arms. But it wasn't that easy. She wouldn't, and couldn't. Not yet.

"What do you want, Katie?" Jessie finally said as she looked at Katie, her eyes revealing real puzzlement at this sudden re-emergence after a 20-year absence.

"I don't know, Jess, I don't know why I came and I don't know why I waited so long," Katie answered, her lips beginning to quiver. "What do you want?"

"I want my friend Katie," Jessie answered as she turned back towards the fireplace again. The word "friend" sounded several decibels higher to Katie's ears.

"I am here, Jess. I will always be your friend. I never stopped being your friend," Katie whispered helplessly, now with tears in her eyes as she crawled across that old coffee table that seemed like the great divide, to sit by Jessie's side.

Jessie did not move but turned her head towards Katie who was now seated beside her on the floor, crying softly as tears fogged her eyeglasses. Jessie smiled at Katie and pulled out an old, yellow, folded letter she was keeping next to her. Across the paper Katie could still make out her handwriting "Jessie" hastily scribbled.

Jessie very solemnly unfolded the letter and read softly what Katie had written to her 20 years ago…

__

"Dear Jessie,

I am writing this letter from Mr. Dimitri's class. I really don't know why you seem so mad at me, but I want you to know that it is breaking my heart. Everyday, I am happy to come to school because I know I will see you and we will spend time together and somehow, the day doesn't seem too long. You have made my life brighter and I never ever want to lose you. 

I love you and…"

"Stop," Katie finally took Jessie's hand down and folded the old spiral notebook page back. 

"I told you I was going to keep your letter forever, and so forever hasn't come yet as far as I know," answered Jessie, while she took down Katie's foggy eyeglasses and carefully placed it on the coffee table.

And once more, Jessie and Katie were facing each other, their blue eyes filled with tears, as they did in the attic 20 years ago. And Jessie tilted her head towards Katie's face and kissed her softly, like it was the first time she had ever kissed another human being. It wasn't a long kiss, it wasn't any special kiss, but it was almost the same kiss they shared half a lifetime ago.

Katie smiled back at Jessie, and they kissed some more, this time more tender, this time more resolved to recover what ever it was they thought they had lost to distance and time.

======================

Jessie woke up to find Katie gone; it was almost 5 in the morning. She searched for her robe and went down to see where Katie had gone. In the balcony was Katie, wrapped in a blanket, seated outside. 

They were both very tired the night before, both physically and emotionally, and they both fell asleep on the floor. As the fire died down, Katie felt Jessie waking her up and beckoning her to come upstairs. She was half asleep as Jessie led her to the bedroom, she did not even know which one. As she felt her head against the pillow, Jessie kissed her softly and pulled up the blanket while crawling next to her.

"Goodnight, Billie," she sort of heard Jessie say. She smiled, still half-asleep, as she returned Jessie's kiss. And they fell asleep in each other's arms. 

"Katie…" Jessie whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder she would wake up the sun and it would separate them again.

"Ssshh… come here…" Katie motioned for Jessie to sit next to her as she quickly wrapped the blanket around them both. They waited for the dawn as Katie occasionally kissed Jessie's hair as the blonde's head rested on her shoulder.

And just as the sun started finding its way through the horizon, Katie softly whispered to Jessie, "I love you, Billie, I will always love you."

============


	7. The Jessie Toddy

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

****

CHAPTER 7: The Jessie Toddy

Later That Evening

Jessie poured the fresh maple syrup into her concoction of fresh milk, locally brewed Irish whiskey, some decaf coffee and a dash of cinnamon, juggled the shaker, and poured some into a tall glass and handed it to Katie. She then proceeded to drink straight out of the stainless steel shaker, which did not escape Katie's attention. 

"So I guess this pretty much is my first and last nightcap of the evening," she quipped while pretending to be aghast at what Jessie was doing.

"You don't need more than that. The Jessie toddy is so potent that it will totally obliterate any semblance of sanity from your head you'll forget to ask for more," Jessie said as she put down the shaker on the coffee table and checked the logs in the fireplace.

Katie started laughing as she looked at Jessie and realized that she had a milk mustache, and leaned over the coffee table, careful not to spill whatever's left in Jessie's shaker.

"What?" Jessie turned back and faced Katie leaning over her.

"This," Katie said as she proceeded to wipe the trace of leftover milk on Jessie 's face before she planted a quick kiss on the now milk-free lips.

-------------------------------------

Jessie couldn't remember the last time she had such a peaceful day, not boring, not quiet, not content, but peaceful. She and Katie biked down to town that day and walked along the quaint thoroughfare. They had some blueberry pancakes for brunch at "Gilda's" before she took Katie to the farmer's market at the opposite side of town. The town was no more than 15 blocks long, really, but Katie found this parochial setting magical. And Jessie knew all the vendors at the market and they knew her.

They picked up some fresh flowers, mostly blue freesias, some fresh vegetables to go with whatever groceries they already had, and of course, some fresh fruits and anything else that caught their fancy.

"Let me try this," as Katie picked up a tiny piece of candied maple syrup, the size that sellers wanted you to try so you would buy a whole big package afterwards. Jessie waited for her reaction, and before she could ask Katie planted a quick kiss on her lips, making sure Jessie also tasted some of the now-melted candy.

The seller was amused as he watched these two attractive women display so much affection in front of him, even though he thought that the shorter one was visibly surprised at the tall one's sneak attack. But hey, he had seen so much in his 70 years ever since Vermont became the first state in the country to approve same-sex marriages, and he had concluded that happiness was not a monopoly of traditional man-woman relationships.

"We'll take a bag," Katie said, "And a jar of your freshest maple syrup."

"Here's the bag, and the maple syrup is on me," winked the vendor as he handed the brown package to Katie.

"Thanks, Vernon," Jessie called out as they walked to the next stall.

"How about steak tonight, Billie," Katie asked as she examined the portions of Angus beef spread out on the table.

Jessie looked at her narrowly, the kind of look that was ready to annihilate, and then Katie remembered, "Oh, you are still a vegetarian? I thought that after you got your medical degree, you would have realized the nutritional value of carnivorous protein."

"You don't have to have a medical degree to understand the basic flaw in eating animal meat," Jessie looked very seriously at Katie, "You can be a 10-year old and still know that murder is wrong."

"But it's also the law of nature, Jessie. We hunt, we kill, we're part of the cycle and we happen to be on top of the food chain. So, steak tonight?" Katie said, as she pretended to choose a few pieces of prime rib.

Jessie pulled Katie's hand from the meat stall as she admonished, "Well, we are taking ourselves out of the food chain because when another specie more superior than we comes along, I don't want to be dinner."

Katie looked bemused as Jessie led the way, walking through the maze of stalls and shoppers, until they stopped at another store. "This is what we are having for dinner," Jessie said as she examined the different kinds of Vermont cheese wedges spread across the table."

"But cheese is made from the milk of a cow! And that still makes you a part of the food chain!" Katie screamed.

Jessie looked at her, feigning annoyance, and said, "Mothers breastfeed their babies all the time, and babies don't eat their mothers. It's different with milk. It is a product of the body that does not require the death of its producer to make its consumption enjoyable."

"Some mothers eat their young…" Katie pouted before Jessie kissed her cheek very quickly.

They did not get back to the cabin until late that afternoon. They prepared their dinner, something that Jessie put together with several vegetables, lots of garlic and olive oil and served with fresh pasta topped with melted Vermont sharp cheddar. They had some fresh fruits for dessert, all gooey with homemade maple syrup vanilla ice cream, another one of Vernon's specialties.

After they cleaned up, Jessie decided to take a shower and freshen up. Jessie always HAD to brush her teeth and take a shower after supper. It had been her routine since medical school. Probably because supper usually came late and the only way she could stay awake after a meal was to take a shower. Katie took her lead and went to the other bathroom. 

---------------------------------------

They were still seated across each other with the antique pine coffee table between them, their remaining Jessie toddy on it, their hands stretched out across, holding, grasping each other's fingers, trying to blur where one hand began and the other ended.

Jessie stood up and walked across to sit on the couch while Katie remained on the floor. Jessie put her chin on top of Katie's head all the while caressing Katie's cheeks, once in a while brushing Katie's lips that were ever so ready to give her palm and fingers a quick kiss.

"Billie…" Katie said as she looked up at Jessie.

"Ssshhh…" Jessie just whispered as she kissed Katie's lips. 

"Agh, you're breaking my neck," Katie said afterwards, and Jessie started laughing. She WAS breaking Katie's neck.

"Are you done with your Jessie toddy?" Jessie asked as she reached out for her stainless steel shaker and sipped the remaining concoction.

"Not yet, but I will be …" as Katie took her glass and gulped the rest of the toddy, "Now. Boy, that was good! Where did you get that recipe?"

"I invented it," Jessie said nonchalantly as she stood up, taking Katie's hands with her. "I spend a lot of time here by myself, and frankly moonshine just wasn't cutting it for me. Plus Vernon always gives me his best maple syrup."

"Ah, I see. You have also mastered the art of alcohol alchemy," Katie said as she stumbled up on her feet trying to catch up with Jessie.

"Do you want to see my best bartender tricks? I can juggle 3 shakers with three different cocktail mixtures," Jessie laughed as she led Katie upstairs.

========================

IN THE BEDROOM

NC-17 rating here

Katie was gazing at Jessie as they tried to get some sleep. Katie was supposed to go back to New York the following day and she needed some sleep for the long drive home. The room was dark and they had put some logs in the bedroom fireplace. Despite summer threatening to make its appearance, it was still cold in Vermont in May. Damn, it was still cold all over New England; whoever prophesied the total depletion of the ozone layer was premature, global warming sure hadn't happened. Not in Stowe, Vermont, where it was still supposed to go down to the low 30's that late spring night.

And so they lied there, both staring at each other, their faces vaguely illuminated by the fire in the corner. Jessie did not know what to do – the last person she ever slept with was Katie. She was called many names at Northwestern for not wanting to sleep with anyone but she did not really care. She did not find anybody else interesting enough. She had forgotten this feeling – the tingling all over your body – she actually had come to regard this so-called sensation in medical terms. But a plausible medical explanation for what she was feeling was not enough to diminish its existence. 

"Katie," she whispered as she put her hands on Katie's cheeks and kissed her mouth. She felt Katie's tongue meeting hers, and the emotion she was feeling inside was too much, her tears started flowing.

"Billie," Katie whispered, aware of the salty tears which she had wiped away with her lips, "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know… I mean… I never really thought I would ever see you… much less kiss you, again," Jessie whispered.

"Well, you thought wrong," Katie said as she kissed Jessie again, this time more intensely while they felt each other's hands burning… on this cold Vermont night. 

Katie moved her hands up Jessie's pajama top, taking liberty with what she found underneath while she felt Jessie's chest go up and down more heavily. She hastily unbuttoned Jessie's pajama top off, moved her lips down to Jessie's breast and began kissing them. Jessie moaned, as she held down Katie's head closer to her chest where her heart was supposed to be. And with her other hand, she reached out to the hem of Katie's pajama top to pull it off. 

Katie did not let this minor inconvenience of stretching her arm to deter her from the activity she was tremendously enjoying. Her hand moved to pull down the rest of Jessie's animal-print pajama and explored whatever else she found.

And then they lied there naked, tracing each other's body like a roadmap that they should have taken 20 years ago, breathing heavily into each other's mouth as if their spirits wanted to be free to join each other, every molecule in their body alive and aware of the other. And somewhere in the night, it almost seemed to happen – a very metaphysical reunion of two stars that have wandered the vastness of the universe never knowing but always seeking where the other was. And when this miracle happens, one could not help but be in awe.

And before such a great thing, what else could you do?

"Jessie, please stop crying," Katie whispered, although tears were also streaming down her face as they gazed at each other, feeling unworthy of the joy that overwhelmed them.

"I can't, I can't," Jessie repeated, unable to think much less say anything resembling intelligence.

Katie tenderly kissed Jessie's forehead before turning over to gaze at the ceiling, the light of the moon shining through the curtains. And she smiled and closed her eyes while she continued to hold Jessie's body next to hers, Jessie's arms now flung across her. She was home, she thought. It took her 20 years, but she had come back home.

Jessie closed her eyes too, ready to fall asleep on Katie's arms, feeling all spent and reinvigorated at the same time, a million thoughts and emotions going through her head. She had never felt so happy and peaceful in a very long time. Things were not as simple as they were 20 years ago, and no matter how hard she tried she still could not forget the 20 years between them. 

But tomorrow is another day, and tonight they were together. And really, that's all that mattered right now, Jessie thought.

======================


	8. God And Other Musings

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

****

CHAPTER 8: God and Other Musings

Sunday Morning

"Billie?" Katie groggily asked as she opened her eyes and reached out for Jessie. But Jessie wasn't around and it was only 8 in the morning, so she decided to lounge some more. She turned on the radio-alarm clock on the night stand and listened to the Boston Pops play "La Primavera" or Spring – the 1st movement from Vivaldi's "Le Quattro Stagioni", The Four Seasons.

Katie marveled at how she was feeling – she was in a state of total, utter contentment. Like every step she ever took in her life was necessary so she could find herself where she was at that very moment once more. Oh there were others, she knew that. She had spent other passionate nights with other people. But not one of them could ever compare to what she and Jessie shared. True, Jessie was not the best lover she had, others were almost like characters straight from the pages of Kama Sutra. But that was exactly the point – Jessie only needed to be next to her to take her into a different dimension away from the boundaries of physical reality. Making love to Jessie was almost a religious phenomenon, an almost surreal experience that definitely was never described in any literature, past or present. She was almost certain that nobody, not a single living creature in all of Creation, ever had the privilege of making love the way she and Jessie did and then feeling the depths of their happiness.

And really, she could not help right now but think that there is a God. Although raised as a Catholic, she was never one for organized religion. She had seen so much conflict in the Middle East, all under the guise of a God that was supposed to be all loving yet admonishing His creatures to kill one another, all in His name. One of her research papers actually incorporated religion into an econometrics equation. But right now, with all the utter purity of the happiness flooding her heart, Katie HAD to think of God, because really, no existing model of human interaction could have produced such a state of total bliss – not even the much theorized but never really proven state of perfect equilibrium. 

"Hey Billie… " Jessie said as she quickly kissed Katie before putting her gloves on the dresser. "Have you been up long?"

"Uh-uh," Katie shook her head as she gazed at Jessie, trying to make some sense of how this human being could touch the deepest corner of her soul without doing much of anything other than simply breathe.

"I brought some bagels and the coffee is brewing, freshly ground from the hands of Juan Valdez," Katie said, smiling, as she sat next to Katie and reached out for her hand. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," Katie lied, "God, " she later corrected herself.

Jessie threw her an inquiring look, "I thought you were a heathen?"

"Oh, I am," Katie laughed, "but it doesn't mean I am not allowed to think of Him."

"You know, God could actually be a woman," Jessie reminded her, "but I think God does not have a gender, because He, or She, actually created us with cells that divide and multiply on their own without the benefit of any sexual identity."

"You think our cells are a-sexual?" Katie asked as she played with Jessie's hand on hers.

"Oh, definitely," Jessie answered, "All you need to do is look at them under a microscope while they divide into tiny other cells. It is quite amazing, really."

"Where did you go? Just to town to get bagels?" Katie asked.

"I went to mass – they have a 7 o'clock service at the parish", Jessie said very matter-of-factly. 

"Did you pray for me?" Katie asked as she reached for her eyeglasses on the table.

"Always," Jessie smiled as she kissed Katie once more.

=========================

They decided to have breakfast at the balcony overlooking the lake. The fog was disappearing and it was such a wonderful morning to waste inside the confines of the cabin.

"You still go to church?" Katie asked as she sipped some coffee from a mug with the AMA logo on it.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Jessie answered proudly before she added, "That's what's kept me together all these years. Besides, don't forget Pascal's wager – I would not want to bet on the non-existence of God in case He, or She, actually existed because this lifetime is such a lame prize compared to Eternity."

"Do you want me to write down the proof for Pascal's wager?" Katie asked, referring to the French mathematician's algorithm.

Jessie smiled and shook her head.

"You know, I would not have thought of it… I mean you're training is in medicine and all and when you go back to the fundamentals, isn't it kinda hard to reconcile the idea of God with the exactness of science?" Katie continued, still a little baffled.

"On the contrary, my profession has been more of a catalyst than a detriment on the issue of Faith," Jessie answered, "because as a doctor, I am aware of what I can and cannot do. I am trained to work with my head and hands, I should have an idea of what the outcome should and shouldn't be. But every time somebody died even though you know you did everything you could in your power, while another one survived despite a graver prognosis, every time something happened that you could not really explain, then you really start to accept that you're not in charge. As a doctor, I am not in charge. And that's the paradox – this science versus religion thing. They're NOT really contradictory, they're complimentary…" Jessie finished off before she and Katie just sat there, an awkward silence between them.

"We better start packing soon," Katie remembered, "I don't want to hit NY traffic."

"I am not leaving. You can go ahead if you want to. I took the rest of the week off," Jessie said as she frowned at some kids who had now disturbed the crystal-like surface of the lake with their jet skis.

"You did?" Katie inquired because she could not believe what she just heard. "What are you going to do the rest of the week? How are you going to get home? Wouldn't the hospital want you back in case some Siamese twins come in conjoined through their noses?"

"Okay, A, you are not the only one with a laptop. I brought mine too. Noticed the briefcase by the cloak closet? It is mine, and you better believe that it contains more than just National Enquirer and People magazines. B, we have a pickup truck parked behind the cabin. It is a requirement when you live here, along with a red plaid flannel shirt, a shotgun that can blast a dozen wild geese with one bullet, and 3 pairs of skis for every pair of human feet. I could drive that truck home and bring it back the next time I come up here with friends. And C, the probability of a set of Siamese twins joined through the nose is like one in a gazillion, so I would likely not be called in," Jessie said as fast as she could without missing a beat.

"Come up here with friends?" Katie asked suspiciously, "What kind of friends, who, I mean, how often do you that?"

"I don't have to answer your question," Jessie defensively said. "I am not your girlfriend and I can very well bring whomever I fancy!" although Jessie knew that she was only referring to her old college roommate, Trish who now lives in the Berkshires, and Trish's husband Patrick.

"Okay, out of line," Katie resigned. "Wait here a moment", she yelled out as she ran, barefoot, outside in her animal-print pajamas to the parked Explorer.

"I am staying too!" Katie announced as she came back with her satellite video telephone, land mobile phone, her own stack of economic and political journals, and 2 other laptops in addition to the one she had already brought in.

Jessie looked, amused, as Katie proceeded to call someone with her mobile phone.

"Good morning, Helen, it's Katie," she heard Katie authoritatively said. "Listen, I hope I am not bothering your breakfast or anything, but I will not be back in the office tomorrow. In fact I will be back…" Katie put her hand on the mouthpiece and turned to Jessie, "When am I going to be back?"

"Next Monday," Katie said on the phone. "And unless the Third World War is about to begin, please don't call me. I will be working from here, so you can send me any important emails and you can forward any important phone calls to my global satellite phone number, but I stress the word IMPORTANT."

"Okay, Helen, I owe you," Katie said more playfully as she hung up the phone. She loved to torture her secretary who always got frazzled whenever she was not around because it was she, not Katie, who had to field the questions on her whereabouts from all these important people from all over the world. And frankly, Helen did not speak a word of French, Hebrew, or Arabic, languages all mandatory in Katie's job description. 

==========================

Wednesday Afternoon

They had spread out a sleeping bag on the bedroom balcony facing west so they could bask in the late afternoon sun and wait for the sunset. Katie was sitting on the sleeping bag with her legs outstretched and her laptop on her…well… lap. A little satellite dish was on her right side; this allowed her fast Internet connection without having to attach to a cable or DSL line or Heaven forbid resort to that ancient means – using a landline via a modem!

Leaning on her left shoulder, with her back to Katie's side, Jessie also furiously typed on her computer which was lodged between her folded knees and her stomach, medical journals spread next to her, some pages carefully marked by little yellow post-it notes. 

As Katie read a proposal from Mexico on how to allocate South American oil production to cover the reduced output from the Middle East, she glanced at Jessie's screen. Whatever it was, it seemed as boring as what she was reading, with tables and graphs and numbers.

"What are you working on?" she finally asked Jessie.

"Oh, my part of this article we're writing for the New England Journal of Medicine. We had a case last month of an apparent complete disappearance of HIV from this 6-month old baby born to a woman with advanced AIDS, without the benefit of any real synthetic chemical alteration or input – that's medication in peasant terms to you, " as Jessie threw her a mocking glance, "but it happened after I, I mean we, attached a portion of the baby's preserved umbilical cord to its colon to replace some damage intestines. That poor child has had more medical procedure done to him in 6 months than anyone could ever expect in a lifetime," Jessie sighed as she continued typing, periodically glancing at the journals in front of her.

"Amazing," Katie answered, "Simply amazing."  
  
"Oh, it was amazing. But see the umbilical cord is…" Jessie started to say before Katie interrupted her.

"No, THIS is amazing," Katie said as she kissed Jessie while pointing to the laptops before them, "Because we are both working. We are actually freakin' working."

=================================

Saturday Morning

"So after Sabine, there was Nenushka then Claire…" Katie rattled off the names of her former girlfriends as she fingered Jessie's hair then running her fingers across Jessie's soft skin before settling on Jessie's hand.

"Katie, you ARE such a slut," Jessie said, pretending to say it in jest although she could not really hide her jealousy and pain.

"WERE, as in past tense," Katie corrected her. "But let's not talk about them anymore, okay? It's not really that important. Really. Let's talk about you. Name some names, I want to know who my replacements were."

"Nobody," Jessie said, "You were the first and the last, my Alpha and Omega."

"Really?" Katie did not believe what she was hearing. "Not even one? Not even a kiss?"

"Well, there were kisses…" Jessie said, but Katie interrupted her again, "Aha! I knew I was not the only slut!" Katie said.

"Katie, you were The Only slut," Jessie replied, "because kisses don't count. Kisses were like appetizers to help you decide whether you want to order the entrée. And I never ordered the entrée, not once."

"You were starving yourself again?" Katie said before Jessie gave her one of those looks. "Okay then, I was The Only slut. But really, I couldn't help it. I had the word "slut" tattooed in my arm before mom and dad brought me home from the hospital. I got my doctorate in slut science. I am Dr. Kathleen Singer, Doctor of Slutscophy," Katie said as she turned around to kiss Jessie's neck and caress her bare skin one more.

"Katie, I am so not finding this amusing," Jessie dismissed this display of passion, still giving Katie The Look.

"I know," Katie answered before she said, more solemnly, "But you abandoned me. Why did you have to live with your dad, when your mom stayed in Sinclair? Why did you have to go?"

"Katie, I asked my mother the same question many, many times. She finally gave me the answer before I left for medical school," Jessie said as she looked at Katie who eagerly awaited her answer, "And she said it broke her heart when I left because Eli was also leaving for college, but she said she had to let me go so I could experience living in another continent, experience another culture, taste and feel and see what other people outside America are doing. She said she could never possibly give me, not in a million years, the lessons I learned the 2 years I was in Australia."

"And was she right?" Katie asked, although she already knew the answer, for she too respected the lessons taught outside the safety of a classroom.

"I would not change a thing," Jessie replied.

============================

MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL

Boston, MA

Following Monday

"Dr. Sammler, another one," Ruth said mischievously as she placed another bouquet of flowers, this time lilies and dandelions and other colorful spring flowers on Jessie's desk. It was only 10 in the morning and Jessie was in her office reviewing files before her next procedure scheduled that afternoon. She looked around – there were already 10 bouquets of flowers delivered to the 5th floor since that morning. 

"Thanks, Ruth. Can you please close my door?" Jessie said as she picked up the phone.

"Dr. Singer's office, how may I help you?" Helen answered from the other line.

"Hi, is she available? Please tell her it's Dr. Sammler," Jessie quipped.

"Hold on, please, let me check," then Jessie heard some elevator music playing.

"The flower shop downstairs only had enough flowers to make 15 bouquets for today, and I did not want to deprive any really sick person of flowers so you are only getting 10," Katie said without even saying hello. "But I am having Helen track down the all other flower shops in the vicinity of the hospital so…"

"Katie, enough. I get it. We both had a fantastic time together, but really, I feel like I am in my own funeral," Jessie said, smiling at the flowers.

"Or wedding," Katie added.

"Ha-ha-ha," Jessie pretended to laugh trying not to pay attention to what Katie just said. 

"Well, thanks for the flowers and please don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture and the thoughts but please don't send anymore flowers. Someone somewhere might really need them, especially if they just cheated on their wives, and we don't want them to go home empty-handed now, do we?" Jessie smiled.

"Well, expect a few more, I think Helen already placed the orders, but I promise I won't leave pandering husbands empty," Katie said.

"Well, I better go, I have to prepare for my one o'clock and I am still going through my emails. I have already deleted 118, all marked urgent, and I have 97 left to delete," Jessie said.

"Did you at least read them before you chucked them?" Katie asked, while looking at her computer screen.

"Hell, no," Jessie said.

"I'll call you later," Katie smiled, "What time are you off?"

"I'm on call for the next 3 days. I am paying for my sudden streak of unpredictability and adventure, so technically, I should be in the hospital premises for the next 72 hours but we do get a few hours break here and there, you know, to go home and shower, and sleep," Jessie answered.

"Well, I'll try all your numbers until I get you, and if I don't, I'll still keep on trying. How's that?" Katie asked.

"Sounds like a real stupid use of your time, but okay then," Jessie said as she hung up the phone.

========================

UN ECONOMIC COUNCIL

New York, NY

Katie did not know what just happened, but that conversation was bothering her and she did not really have the luxury of analyzing and decoding it right now. Jessie almost sounded … strictly professional…while she had not been able to concentrate the whole morning, busy grinning to herself and driving her secretary crazy with all her flower requests.

How could Jessie act so focused on her work while she was feeling giddy and stupid? And then she sighed… the high from the last week would eventually wear off and she too would plunge herself into her daily life. 

True, Vermont was fantastic and their week was heavenly. But after she dropped Jessie home before she headed west on the Massachusetts Turnpike, the whole week began to fade into another beautiful memory – beautiful but nevertheless just that - another memory.

Katie sat and looked at the East River and wondered what she really accomplished, long term, in seeing Jessie again. She was an economist, dammit, and Long Term is always an objective.

There must be a pseudo equilibrium equation somewhere that she could use to maximize the effect of the positive aspects of their relationship while diminishing the inevitable negativity of distance and time. She proceeded to draw some formulas on her pad, not really knowing where this mental exercise would lead her but she had to find out anyway.

==================


	9. The Amtrak Acela Train

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

===========================

****

CHAPTER 9: The Amtrak Acela Train

MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL

Same Day

"Jessie, did you bribe the gift shop downstairs to send you all these flowers?" Dr. Garrett, the Chief of Pediatrics, asked as he came into Jessie's room.

"Oh, hi, Ted," Jessie looked up. She must have fallen asleep on her desk. 

"Someone got lucky last week, didn't we?" Dr. Garrett grinned as he proceeded to sit in front of Jessie who was still trying to pick some petals off her hospital coat. "All I can say is, you go girl!"

"Ted, you just broke at least a dozen HR policies with that statement, but I will not lodge any official complaint," Jessie smiled as she surveyed her flower-filled office.

"The nurses are all talking about it! They were caught unprepared for the realization that you have some kind of life, let alone anything resembling a sex life," Dr. Garrett continued, obviously fishing for information.

"Ted, go away. Don't you have to attend some meeting or something?" Jessie said as she looked straight ahead at Dr. Garrett, her former professor and now mentor.

"As a matter of fact, I do, but I just wanted to pass by to give you my blessing, and I hope to meet the lucky man someday," Dr. Garrett said as he stood up to leave.

"You will, but please don't zero in on anyone you might think is worthy of my love," Jessie smiled, remembering that Dr. Garrett had fixed up her with several eligible doctors in the past.

"Oh, I can't wait," Dr. Garrett winked as he walked out her office.

Jessie sat in her flower nursery – er, her office – a smile visibly etched on her face. The week they had was simply indescribable she never thought she was capable of giving and receiving so much love at this point in her life. She wondered, simply wondered at how Katie could just erase with her touch all the pain that she had carried with her over the last 20 years. And every time they made love - and they did several times during the day and throughout the night, in several places in and around the cabin - she felt like they were finding each other again for the first time. Like explorers who were searching for the Holy Grail, never knowing when or where the search would end, only knowing that the journey itself was as Holy as the elusive prize. And every time her lips met Katie's, it seemed like all the mysteries of the universe were explained by one simple kiss. Simply put, it was like coming home.

But she was a doctor, she was in the business of saving lives, and inasmuch as she wanted to stay in their little Eden forever, the Sin of Cain beckoned them to their respective East, to right the wrong and heal the sick and do whatever it was they were meant to do with their lives.

And Jessie wondered, for herein lies the paradox: she was meant to love Katie, she knew it since she was 14 years old, but she was also meant to be a doctor, she also knew it since she was a little girl, and she felt that the could never be whole without either aspect of her life peacefully coexisting. But how could they when their respective lives were still 200 miles away and their respective vocations required different passions?

============================

KATIE'S APARTMENT - 2 Weeks Later

Sutton Place, NY

Saturday Morning

Jessie opened her eyes and heard the distant sound of subway trains roaring underground; Katie was still asleep next to her, her face burrowed in Jessie's neck. Jessie kissed Katie's forehead and began to trace invisible lines along the side of the economist's bare skin. 

Katie arched her back, visibly enjoying whatever it was that Jessie was doing, as she started to kiss Jessie's neck and returned the favor by caressing Jessie's chest. She was quite awake by now, the embers of the previous evening once again burning in her lips. Jessie turned her around on her back and climbed on top of her, kissing her lips and neck and face and nose and ears with the hunger of a newborn baby grasping for its mother.

=========

"Whew," Katie exclaimed as she pulled the covers up after they somehow got flung all over. "Now I can die in peace."

"You too?" Jessie asked, still nibbling Katie's ears.

"Uh-hum," Katie whispered, dozing back to sleep.

It was a lazy Saturday morning, and Jessie had taken the train down to NY to spend Memorial Day weekend with Katie. They had not seen each other since that week in Vermont, and although they managed to talk frequently and Katie somehow managed to send a bouquet of roses to the hospital everyday despite Jessie's dire admonition, it was not the same. They still went home to their respective apartments and their respective beds and held each other's respective pillows until they woke up and wished for each other's presence.

Unlike high school students, they were not exactly keen on including the telephone as a requirement of their daily existence. When they could talk for hours before, never knowing when to stop so they could talk again for hours after school the following day, they did not have the same luxury of time anymore. Now, telephones were mostly for conducting business after they leave the confines of their work, keeping in touch with family members, and making sure distant friends were still alive.

The phone rung and Katie lazily grasped for the phone – it was almost nine o'clock, but who on earth could be calling her on a Saturday morning when all she wanted to do was sleep after working for over 60 hours that week?

"Hello," Katie answered.

"Oh, hi, okay, she's right here," as she gently woke Jessie up still asleep on her arms.

"For me?" Jessie half-consciously said as she tried to wipe her eyes before she took the phone.

"Hello," Jessie groggily answered before she broke into a really wide smile.

"Hi, Ryan! How's my handsome godson," Jessie now suddenly awake, leaning against the headboard while Katie stood up to go to the bathroom, Jessie following her with her eyes.

Katie glanced at Jessie talking to her nephew before she washed her face and put on her authentic Japanese silk kimono, a gift from the Emperor of Japan, after she presented a paper at the Far East Economic Convention in Tsukuba 2 years ago. She had waited anxiously for the weekend to arrive and took a cab early to 34th Street Penn Station to meet Jessie who was on the 9:00 Amtrak Acella train from Boston. It was a good thing those bullet trains were still running; the US was still so far behind Europe when it came to harnessing the power and sheer beauty of the railroad, thought Katie. 

Jessie did not get in until almost 10 last night and they took a cab East to her 2-bedroom apartment near the United Nations complex. It was considered a grave sin if you lived in New York City and you elected to stay home on a Friday night, but Jessie was tired from the 3-hour train ride and a 12-hour shift before that.

So Katie ordered some light vegetarian Indian dish and bread – that's another good thing about New York – you could order anything at any time and they would still deliver it to your doorman – and they ate a late supper at the corner nook of her apartment overlooking Brooklyn.

Jessie took a shower immediately after supper, of course after brushing her teeth, and Katie playfully joined her. While Jessie seemed aghast at this blatant and aggressive invasion into her privacy, she did not really mind after a while. They never got to put their animal-print pajamas on because Katie pulled Jessie onto her bed right after they dried each other, resolved to blatantly and aggressively invade Jessie's privacy some more.

"We're meeting Ryan, Emily and Grace at the Museum of Natural History this afternoon," Jessie said as she walked towards the bathroom, wrapped only in sheets. Katie already had her shorts and T-shirt on.

"Okay," Katie said as she smiled and gave Jessie a quick kiss.

"Uhm," Jessie hesitated. "What?" Katie asked.

"Would you mind not hogging the bathroom?" Jessie finally said.

"Of course," Katie laughed as she gave way to Jessie. "I'll get breakfast."

"Don't you ever use your stove? Or your coffee maker?" Jessie said visibly annoyed that Katie had to order everything, or so it seemed.

"Nope," Katie answered back as she put on her running shoes and headed towards the door. "Why would I and when it would cost me less to buy a cup of coffee than to actually brew a pot?"

"Go away," Jessie said as she closed the bathroom door to shut Katie out.

===========================

NY PENN STATION

Monday afternoon

Jessie and Katie were standing right underneath the sign that announced which train was coming and which one was leaving and what track you should go to. Jessie was standing right in front of Katie, who was holding her close. They were both looking at the rolling signs, once in a while turning around to give each other a quick kiss.

"I wish you could stay," Katie whispered to Jessie.

"I wish you could stay too, with me," Jessie answered back.

And then they were silent at this obvious standstill, when neither party was right and neither one was wrong and they could only hold their fort until one decided to wave the white flag. Which of course did not happen.

"So, you're turn next time?" Jessie asked without turning to face Katie, "Coming up to Boston, I mean."

"Yup," Katie answered before remembering, "I have to go to Lebanon next week."

"You do?" Jessie was visibly surprised.

"I thought I told you," Katie answered.

"Well, you did not," Jessie answered hurt that Katie had missed this important piece of information.

"It's only for 3 day, Jess," Katie reassured her.

But Jessie did not answer. They stood there and continued to watch the letters moving and changing, until 2 red dots simultaneously flashed before two train names.

"Well, that's mine," Jessie said, picking up her bag.

"Which one, though? They are both going up the North East corridor," Katie said as she realized that while both trains were going to Boston, they had different track numbers before them.

"Oh, I take the express train, the other one makes all the ice cream stops," Jessie said as she turned around to walk towards the escalator. Katie still had not let go of her hand and was following her to her train.

"All aboard!!!" the car conductor called out.

"I better go," Jessie said as she turned to climb the train.

Oblivious to the crowd around them, Katie pulled her back towards her and kissed her passionately, the way that Al Gore kissed Tipper 22 years ago during the Democratic Convention.

"I love you," Katie said as Jessie ran towards the steps.

"I love you too," Jessie called out just before the conductor rang the bell once more and then the train started pulling out of the station. Katie made her way out of the crowd into 33rd street. She decided to walk home, it was not really a long walk. She put her hands in her pocket and headed East. She could still smell Jessie's scent and taste Jessie's lipgloss and feel Jessie's kisses. She wore this stupid grin all the way home, unaware of the crowd coming and going before her. She stopped right by the East river park and sat for a while, watching the river turn orange as the sun set over the Brooklyn skyline.

Katie was just flopping down the couch with some Chinese takeout in her hand. It was almost 9 o'clock and Jessie would be home soon. What the heck, she thought, she did not want to wait until then, so she dialed Jessie's cell phone. But there was no answer. She probably turned it off to get some sleep, Katie thought.

She flipped the remote and changed the channel to NY1, the original local 24/7 news channel. She did not make out at first the "breaking news" streaming across the screen with smoldering images of something.

"We are live from New London, Connecticut where an Amtrak train from New York just collided with a cargo truck carrying dangerous chemicals…" she heard the announcer said, "and at this moment we have no confirmed number of fatalities. The New London fire department is still trying to put out the fire…"

These words rushed through her mind: Jessie… Amtrak Train… collided… dangerous chemicals…

And then it hit her and she screamed, " JESSIE!!!"

=============================


	10. Ideologies

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 10: Ideologies

Katie sat on the couch, not really knowing what to think, not really knowing when to move. She sat there in silence, unable to move, mesmerized by this scene before her. 

They were in high school when the World Trade Center Towers went down and they were called in from their classrooms into the auditorium to watch the events unfold from New York. She remembered exactly what she was thinking because that was when she decided she needed to do something about this business of terrorism and the Middle East and the ultimate cause of this insanity. And when she realized it was all about MONEY, she decided to major in Economics so she could put all these abstract monstrosities into neat little models that she could manipulate and deal with, if only in paper. 

As they filed to take their seats at the high school auditorium, she noticed a blonde sophomore holding Grace's hand like she was some child afraid of getting lost during one of those Christmas shopping days when the rest of humanity congregated in the only place where they were free to express their faith – The Mall. 

"Tad, who's Grace babysitting?" Katie whispered as she pointed to Grace and Katie walking towards 2 empty seats a few rows from them.

"That's Jessie, her new stepsister," Tad answered, "She's a cutie, isn't she?"

"Eh…nothing spectacular," Katie said nonchalantly to deflect Tad's attention but they were both staring at Jessie, sobbing like had just lost something really important. Tad thought she was overreacting and Katie thought she was the person she would really want to be friends with. Because at that moment, as the images of the burning buildings appeared before them, Katie also wanted to start sobbing, for she too had lost something important – a big part of her innocence – except that with Tad and Russell on her side, crying was not exactly considered a cool activity. 

--------------------

And then the phone rang; it was Grace.

"Katie, are you watching the news?" Grace said on the other line. "What time did Jessie's train leave Penn Station?"

"She left on the 5:30," Katie said, still glued to the television.

"Oh my God," Grace exclaimed. "Do you think she's in that train?"

"I don't know, Grace, but there were 2 trains that left Penn at around the same time, both going to Boston," Katie remembered, somehow reassuring herself, somehow allowing herself some hope when hope was never her strongest virtue.

"Well, do you know which train she took?" Grace said more forcefully, apprehension very palpable from her voice.

"The express one," Katie remembered. 

"I'll call you back," Grace said hastily before hanging up the phone.

There were 2 trains! Katie remembered as she started pacing her apartment, unable to stand still for a second, waiting for the phone to ring to hear Jessie tell her she's okay. If there is really a God, she thought, He must have a really wicked sense of humor, because this is SO NOT funny. 

"I don't know if You're doing this because I reappeared after all these years of not talking to You, but this is a real crappy message You're giving me right now," Katie said angrily to no one in the room, except maybe to Someone who could hear her.

Oh, she was so angry with God, or whoever it was who was in charge.

"Katie, Jessie was in that train. It was THE express train that crashed… It was THE five-thirty…" Grace said, hardly able to catch her breath when she called back half an our later – an eternity, really, in Katie's current dimension.

"I'm going there," Katie said as she scanned the room quickly and made mental notes of what she absolutely needed to bring.

"Be careful, Katie. I'll try to get Eli and my mom right now, you can call Karen from the road," Grace said on the other line.

Katie ran over to the bathroom to take her contact lenses out; it was going to be a long night and she did not want the extra burden of her oxygen-deprived eyes. As she hastily brushed her teeth and washed her face, she looked up at the mirror and imagined Jessie standing right next to her just that morning, wrapped in her sheets, laughing and tickling her. Her bathroom still smelled of Jessie – what kind of shampoo was that again, Katie thought, her mind going in a thousand different directions, unable to focus to the task at hand. And then there was another image of Jessie – a 14 year old Jessie, dressed in the stupid costume that Sarah had sabotaged for her as she looked helplessly at Katie… 

"JESSIE!" she cried out loud as if to remind herself of the urgent task at hand. She looked at her watch; it was almost 10:00.

====================

AMTRAK TRAIN

Earlier That Evening

Jessie was looking out the window, a smile permanently tattooed on her face, as trees and houses appear and disappear before her. There was really nothing on her mind, not one solitary, consciously conjured thought. Just images streaming before her like some sort of ticker tape, yet they were not linear but circular, jumping from one scene to another in no particular order.

__

"Billie," Katie said softly, her voice bringing Jessie out of her   
reflections. "I think I've gone stupid," she continued, not sounding   
terribly concerned about it, as she felt Jessie shift to look up at   
her.  
  
"What're you talking about?" Jessie asked looking over at Katie as   
she blinked up at the ceiling.  
  
"I can't," Katie started. "My mind just won't …work. It's like when   
I broke my arm and the doctor put me on morphine only he gave me too   
much. I feel like that, only better. And…more tingly," she   
continued, highly and pleasantly aware of the feel of Jessie's bare   
skin pressed against the side of her body and the excited feeling it   
caused inside of her.  
  
"Are you saying I'm like a drug?" Jessie asked leaning over and   
pressing a chaste kiss to Katie's cheek, completely in awe of Katie's   
reaction to what they had just shared.  
  
"No," Katie breathed out softly, looking up into Jessie's   
eyes. "Drugs should like be totally jealous of you. There's some   
Colombian cocaine dealer huddled in the corner of a bathroom crying its   
eyes out right now," she continued, her eyes closing as a smile   
spread across her face.

****

(Authors' note: Thanks, Janine)

Jessie smiled at these scenes, scenes she had played many times before in her head like a worn-out video that toddlers watched repeatedly to somehow secure the safety of their toddler universe. She did not know how long she stayed in this revelry; she did not really care. 

She did not really consciously WAIT for Katie to come back to her life, she did not believe in this fairy tale stuff. She just resolved to live her life the way it was meant to be, and if that happened to never include Katie again, that was okay too. For the longest time, she thought Katie was just another chapter – like one of those chapters that you kept reading over and over marking every line with pink highlighters until the pages were all pink – but just another chapter nevertheless. And as life laid out the rest of the yellow brick road before her, she realized that the "past" that was Katie was not really the past, but an ideology that she treasured and carried with her as she walked towards the Emerald City. It was really hard to explain and unless you had really loved another person with all your might and with every molecule in your body and every fiber of your being, you wouldn't know what it's about. 

It was not so much as holding on to the past because God knows she had LIVED her life all these years. She had gladly accepted every card she was dealt with, she was not really moping and clinging to something that's already gone; rather she had transcended the past into something ALIVE and REAL. Maybe that's where all other ideologies come from – this desire to extract the goodness from the unexplainable so you would always remember that despite the uncharted waters before you, you have the map that would always lead to the safety of the other side.

Jessie smiled. She had reached the safety of the other side. Let tomorrow take care of itself, for today, nothing else really mattered.

And then there was the explosion and everything went black. Jessie did not know what had happened, only that she felt something warm trickling out of her forehead and the smell of burning metal and flesh spreading uncontrollably around her. Jessie closed her eyes… she was still smiling… if this was the end of her days, it would be just fine, she thought. For really, she had reached the safety of the other side. At that very moment, she knew what happiness and love was all about, and really, what else was there to find out? And as she slipped into oblivion, the last thing on her mind was Katie's face, staring at her, silently explaining her to herself…

=================================


	11. Finding Jessie

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 11: Finding Jessie

SOMEWHERE ON I-95

She had no idea how'd she'd gotten here, but somehow she managed to navigate her Ford Explorer through the mass of trucks on Interstate 95 as she made her way through New Haven. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Jessie and the images of the smoldering mess of the derailed train she saw on TV. God, this couldn't be happening. Not now. She had just found Jessie again and with that she found a part of herself that had been missing all these years and she was not ready to let go. Not now. Not yet. 

"Oh God, please let Jessie be okay," she pleaded through her sobs. She swore to be good and not be angry anymore and start going to church again if He would just let Jessie be okay. KAREN! Oh my God, she remembered she had not called Karen to let her know what was happening. She fumbled in the darkness for her cell phone and flipped through the numbers until she found Karen's and hit Call. She tried to get herself together a bit so she wouldn't alarm Karen. 

"Hello" she heard through the receiver. She took a deep breath. 

"Karen, it's Katie," she said soberly. 

Karen could immediately tell that something was not right. She could almost hear Katie's desperation through the phone. "What's wrong Katie?" she asked, as the realization hit her that something might be wrong with Jessie. 

Katie couldn't stop the tears. "There's been an accident," she cried. "A train… Jessie's train collided with a truck carrying hazardous chemicals," she added through the sobs. 

"Oh my God," exclaimed a now very worried Karen as she turned on CNN to try and get some information about the accident. "Katie, where are you?" 

"I'm going there. I'm going to find her," she said emphatically. 

"Have you tried calling anyone yet, the train station or anything?" Karen tried to think rationally. 

"Grace did but they don't know anything yet," she informed Karen. 

"Well I'll try to see if I can find out anything. Then, I'm getting on the first flight out of here. Call me if you find out anything, " Karen replied as she rushed around her bedroom pulling her overnight bag from the closet and throwing in there whatever her hand could grasp.

"Okay," replied Katie

"And Katie, please be careful," pleaded Karen. 

"I will, " Katie replied as she glanced at the speedometer: she was driving at over 100 miles per hour.

================

CRASH SITE

New London, CT, about 75 miles south of Boston

Katie used her GPS and the information she had gotten from police scanners to get to the crash site. As she got closer it was easier to just follow the search lights and the sea of blue police lights and the bright red of the firetruck lights flashing in the distance. Her breaths were shallow as she had to remind herself to breathe. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do until she saw EMTs and other emergency workers running by and figured that was her way into the crash site; she remembered a doctor's carry kit that Jessie had left in her SUV from the trip up to the cabin. Jessie always carried that stupid carry kit wherever she went. Katie pulled out a stethoscope and swung it around her neck as she grabbed the bag and ran to catch up to the EMTs. Nobody paid her any attention as she ran past the police who were all busy trying to keep out reporters and casual onlookers. She immediately started looking around for Jessie. 

"Hey, we can use your help over here," she heard someone yelling at her. 

She turned around and realized she was busted. "Um, I can't right now, I was given orders…" she stopped as she noticed another EMT jump in to help. Whew, that was close. She decided to put the stethoscope back in the bag. At least this way, she could just say she was bringing the bag to some medical personnel. There were so many injured people lying on the ground around her. She couldn't bear to look at their helpless bodies as emergency workers struggled to save them. All she could think about was finding Jessie. She had to be okay, she just had to be. 

She came across an older man who had just put a little boy on a stretcher. He was assuring the boy that his arm would be fine, they would just have to put a cast on it at the hospital. As they took the boy away, the older man just wiped his face. He had worked many years in the medical field but it never got any easier. Katie walked up to him. "Excuse me," she said tentatively. 

He looked up and acknowledged her. 

"I'm looking for Dr. Jessie Sammler. Have you seen her by any chance?"

"Which unit is she with?" he questioned, trying to recall the name, but it wasn't ringing a bell. 

"Oh, uh, she was a passenger but I know she would have been out here helping people," she trailed off, "if she was able to," she added. 

"Hmm, I do recall hearing about some people who were passengers that had some medical training that were either helping or had been transported to the hospital. You might be better off, and safer if you just try going there," he told her. 

Katie thanked him for his help and looked around a bit more before she realized she might never find Jessie out here. It was so dark and people were everywhere. She resigned herself to going to the hospital to wait. It was almost 3 in the morning.

=======

HOSPITAL

New London, CT

Katie made her way into the emergency room at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital and headed to the desk where everyone seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of patients that were being brought in from the accident. Katie waited patiently until someone asked if she could help her. 

"I'm looking for a Dr. Jessie Sammler. She was on that train and I need to know if she was brought in as a patient or if she came in with any of the emergency crews," Katie stated calmly. 

"I'm sorry, are you family?" the nurse asked. 

"Um, no I'm not but she's a very close friend of mine and her Mom is on her way here right now. Can you please just check for me?" pleaded Katie. 

"I wish I could, but I can't give out patient information except to family," she told Katie. 

Katie had the urge to just run through the emergency room in search of Jessie, but she had no idea of where to go. Tears started to fill her eyes as she just looked around the room. She felt like she couldn't breathe and everything was closing in on her as the room started to spin. She didn't hear the nurse calling out to her as she slid to the floor. 

Katie came soon as the smelling salts were waived under her nose. The nurse was cradling her head in her lap and was very soothingly trying to get her attention. "Ah, there we go. You're back with us now. Do you know what today is?" she asked trying to make sure Katie still had her senses. 

"Yeah, the worst day of my life," she retorted, remembering where she was and why she was there. 

The nurse helped her to a chair close by. "Why don't you sit here for a bit and just relax. I'll get you a coke and a compress for your head. And I'll see what I can find out about your friend," she offered. 

Katie forced a small smile. "Thank you. "

=======

Two Hours Later

She had no idea how long she had been sitting there but it felt like weeks. She was numb, but it had nothing to do with the fact that her legs were asleep and her body was exhausted. Jessie had awakened a part of her that she had hidden for the past 20 years. She had felt so alive these last few weeks since she and Jessie had come back into each other's lives. And if that was taken away from her now, she didn't know what she was going to do. It hurt so much just thinking about it. Tears started rolling down her face and she put her head in her hands and started to cry. She let it all go. It hurt so much. She couldn't stop the tears. It seemed like forever. 

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard her name. She looked up and thought she saw Jessie, until she realized it was Karen. 

She stood up and just looked at Karen. She couldn't say anything and just started crying as Karen wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly. Karen just held Katie and let her cry as she tried soothing her by rubbing her back. Karen let the tears fall from her eyes too. They had told her they still didn't have any news about Jessie. She held on to Katie as much for Katie's benefit as for her own. She couldn't lose her daughter, she just couldn't. 

========================


	12. Taking You Home

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 12: Taking You Home

SUNRISE

Katie and Karen were sitting in the waiting area, still anxious for news about Jessie. They had hardly said a word. Not that they felt uncomfortable around each other; they were still just lost in their own thoughts. Karen looked over at Katie and realized that Katie really did love Jessie. She never thought the girl had hurt Jessie on purpose by moving to London, but she knew how badly Jessie was hurt and she never wanted to see that happen to her daughter again. 

"So, I heard you finally got to see the cabin?" Karen said, finally breaking the silence. 

Katie looked up at her and smiled, "Yeah, it's really nice up there. " She bit her lip to stop from crying as she recalled the week that she and Jessie shared at the wonderful mountain retreat. 

Karen sensed that Katie was about to break down again and tried to reassure here. She moved over and put an arm around her. "It's going to be okay. "

They were startled by a voice above them. 

"Someone looking for me?" Jessie managed to get out of her exhausted, haggard body. 

They both looked up and immediately jumped up and hugged her. It hurt her but she was so happy to see them. 

"Ouch, easy guys," she said. Katie and Karen eased back. 

"Oh my gosh, are you hurt?" Katie asked through the tears. 

"A cut on my forehead and probably a broken rib, I think, but I'll be okay," Jessie said. 

=======================

Jessie tried to pick herself from this rubble, her head throbbing and her side aching. She was still alive, she finally realized. She was not having some near-death experience where you're supposed to see the light at the end of the tunnel and all your dearly departed relatives waiting by the Pearly Gates. A piece of luggage hit her on the head and she was violently thrown around like a yo-yo as her car train jack-knifed, but they were nowhere near the train that exploded into a giant fireball after the collision.

She reached out for her backpack, still lying next to her, and reached out for her flashlight. She was a doctor, she always carried these things everywhere, that's why tiny purses from Kate Spade would never ever make its appearance in her wardrobe. And she had a stethoscope for every imaginable bag and luggage, the same way some people always made sure that each of their wallets – actively used or stored - had a $10-bill in it. She even had those stethoscopes in different colors with different Warner Brothers characters adorning the ear piece…

"Don't move," she told the young man across her seat, who just hours before seemed the most obnoxious person in the universe as he bobbed his head in unison with some real awful sound coming out of his CD player.

She tried to find a pulse and listen for any sound of life, but he was gone. He was probably hit in the head by something more blunt other than a luggage – there were metal poles bent and hanging all over. Jessie proceeded to walk through the wreckage, putting a torque on one, giving CPR to another… 

She had been so involved with everything after the train crash she'd hardly had time to worry about herself. There were so many people that were worse off and she immediately took it upon herself to put her medical skills to use. She had helped out in the field for hours until she accompanied a young boy with what seemed like internal injuries to the hospital. 

Jessie felt like hell but she was so happy when she saw her mother and Katie sitting there waiting for her. She looked at both of them standing there watching her and she just started crying. It was the release she needed for all those feelings she'd been holding in all day. Katie moved to her and gently took her in her arms.

"The sunrise took you away from me… and now it brought you back…" Katie whispered, "Welcome home, Billie…"

======================

Around 10 That Morning

"We better get you home," Katie beckoned Jessie as the nurse put the finishing bandage on her forehead sutures. Earlier, Jessie and the ER doctor examined some of her X-rays and decided that there really was no rib fracture. The ER doctor just gave her some morphine to ease the pain, instructed the resident to suture the gaping wound on her forehead - hastily covered by an oversized band-aid - and discharged her with the solemn instruction that she seek medical help if anything developed.

"Doctors are the worst patient!" the ER doctor reminded her as he walked to the next bed.

"And you're work? What about Lebanon?" Jessie threw Katie a worried look.

"Everything's taken care of," Katie dismissed. She had called the office earlier and explained the emergency. Her boss, the UN Director of MidEast Economic Policies, would attend the meeting in her place; she just had to put together a presentation that he could take with him. Helen of course was very thoughtful of her predicament as she volunteered to get the flowers again for "this Jessie person" provided that Katie reveal her current whereabouts and contact numbers. In case somebody started looking for her again and Helen just absolutely had to find her. Katie laughed and said her mobile and GPS phones would be available.

"And my work? Did anyone call the hospital?" Jessie continued, still worried.

"I called them and I spoke to Ted," Karen said, referring to Dr. Garrett, Jessie's boss. "I told them you had been in an accident and we would call them as soon as we're in Boston. Ted is very worried about you he asked if he should send someone to medi-vac you to MassGen…"

"Thanks, mom…" Jessie said as Katie helped her to the wheelchair.

==============

JESSIE'S CONDO

Beacon Hill, Boston

Later That Evening

"She's sleeping," Karen said as she walked out of Jessie's bedroom. 

Katie tried her best to smile, but she was very tired, really tired. Neither she nor Karen had slept for over 24 hours. But neither one of them wanted to go to sleep, both of them just wanted to stay next to Jessie in case she needed anything. Finally, the worn, sleep-deprived body won over the lofty aspirations of the heart and Karen stood up.

"Well, I'm going to sleep in the loft," Karen said. Jessie's apartment, like in a lot of older brownstones-turned-condo on Beacon Hill, only had one bedroom and an extra sleeping loft, a 10 x 12 open structure built right between the cathedral ceiling and the living room. Although Jessie used the loft as her office, she had also furnished it with a futon for the times that her mom or dad or brother visited.

"Did you call Rick?" Katie asked as Karen stood up, "I mean, to tell him that Jessie's okay, a little shaken and bruised, but okay."

"I did," Karen smiled at this obvious thoughtfulness, "and I called Grace and Eli to tell them the same thing."

"Thanks," Katie said, standing up to give Karen a quick kiss on the cheek, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Katie," Karen said returning the kiss as she proceeded to walk up to the loft before she turned back and stared at Katie, "And thank you for loving my daughter. She's lucky to have you."

Katie smiled, "You're welcome, and on the luck department, I think I am way ahead of Jessie."

True to her word, Katie put together some numbers and slides for her boss, and using Jessie's laptop -which fortunately did not travel with her to New York - she sent the file to Helen. Around midnight, she went to the bedroom where Jessie was sleeping soundly. She climbed next to her, turned on her side and just gazed at Jessie. And she gazed and gazed until she could no longer control the drooping of her eyes.

"Goodnight Billie," Katie whispered as Jessie moved slightly, and then she very gently kissed those lips before she closed her eyes.

====================


	13. My Girlfriend, Dr. Katie Singer

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 13: My Girlfriend Dr. Katie Singer

MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL

Boston, MA

The Following Monday

"Welcome back, Dr. Sammler, are you doing okay?" Ruth greeted her as she made her way into her office after agreeing to stay home all of the previous week to recover from everything she had been through. Her boss had insisted, so she really didn't have a say in the matter.

"Thanks Ruth and yes, I'm doing great." She really was. She could have come back to work right away but she certainly did enjoy all the attention she was getting from Katie and her mother. Who could have guessed Katie could be so domesticated. Jessie was shocked when Katie managed to actually cook breakfast for her one morning! Things were good. 

However, she still needed to deal with the reality of telling her hospital family about her relationship with Katie. It's not that she was scared of what people would think, like she was in high school. But being in such a public profession, she knew there would be criticism. If only people could just overcome their insecurities, she thought, as she decided it was time to have a talk with Dr. Garrett, her boss and Chief of Pediatrics. 

"Ruth, is Dr. Garrett in yet?" she asked.

"Yes. He's already been in here asking about you," Ruth informed her.

"Well, I'd better check in with him. I'll be back shortly," she said as she put her backpack down, but not before noticing that Katie had been at it with the flowers again. Jeez, the pollen in there was enough to choke her computer.

==========================

DR. GARRETT'S OFFICE

Jessie stood outside Dr. Garrett's door not sure if she was ready to do this. She had been fine until the moment she got to his door, but then she froze. Dr. Garrett had been her teacher and mentor and she looked up to him with such respect and authority and even considered him her pseudo father. She thought back to having to have that talk with her own Dad. She still had that fear of disappointing those that cared for her, even though she knew that was ridiculous. Everyone she cared about had been more than accepting of Katie, so why should Ted be any different. She knocked on the door.

"Come in" she heard him yell out from inside.

He looked up to see who had interrupted his morning notes. When he saw it was Jessie, he dropped everything and crossed the room to give her a hug. 

"Jessie, how are you?" He stood back and looked her over. "You look good. How's your head?" he said as he ran his fingers over the bruise and knot that were the reminders of her brush with death.

"I'm fine," she said, "you made me stay home all week, even though I was perfectly capable of coming back to work," she added.

"You work too hard and you need to think more about yourself," he lectured her.

This was her opening. "Ted, I need to talk to you a minute."

"Sure, have a seat," he offered, as he sat down beside her. "What's on your mind?"

"I think it's time you know about my secret admirer," Jessie started.

"So you're finally going to tell me. Who is he?" he questioned.

"Well, he is actually a she," she waited for his reaction.

"Oh," was all the shocked man could utter. Homosexuality didn't bother him but he never would have believed Jessie's heart was all a flutter because of a woman.

"Katie and I have known each other since high school and we realized then that we had a special connection. Time and circumstances split us apart, but after 20 years, we've found our way back to each other," she continued. "I wanted you to know, first of all, because you are my friend and second of all, because I need to know that you, as my boss, will accept me for who I am and won't judge me based on who I chose to love."

"Jessie, how could you ever think I would be judgmental? Your personal life is your business and I would never base any decisions on anything other than your work. I'm happy for you because for the first time since I've known you, you've seemed so happy and at peace," he told her. "So, when do I get to meet her?"

"She had to go back to New York to catch up on some work, but she will be back on Friday. You're really okay with this." She felt like she had asked that question a million times. Every time she told someone close to her about Katie, she always seemed to think they wouldn't understand, but surprisingly, they all did.

"Jess, it doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks except for you," he said, imparting his sage psychological advice. 

"Thanks," she said smiling.

================

MASS GENERAL

Friday

Jessie had been running around all day. She was at work at 6am and had seen patients non-stop. She hadn't even had a chance to grab a bite for lunch. She managed a quick stop by her desk around 2:00 to check phone messages in between rounds. She was eagerly awaiting a call from Katie to see when she was getting in. She hadn't heard from her since Wednesday night, but they had both been so busy, who had time to pick up a phone. To her disappointment there was no message from Katie waiting for her. She called out to her secretary, "Ruth, did Katie call?" She put Ruth's inquisitive mind at ease earlier in the week when she told her all about Katie and how she was the one responsible for the abundance of flowers that had overtaken Jessie's office. And she knew that by telling Ruth, she was essentially telling the rest of the staff. That woman could spread gossip faster than Bill Clinton could hit on an intern. That was fine with her. She figured they would find out soon enough anyway.

"No, she hasn't," Ruth called out from her desk. At that moment her phone rang. Jessie jumped to pick it up.

"Dr. Sammler"

"Hey you," replied Katie. "I've been thinking about you all day."

"Well, now that's not very productive," Jessie taunted.

"Sure it is. It kept me focused on what I needed to do here."

"Okay. Whatever you say. So when do you think you will be here?"

"I'm on the road now. I wasn't able to call you until now because of a few calls I was finishing up, but I should be there in about 2 hours. Will you still be at work?" 

"Yeah. I have lots of paper work to finish up. Plus, I'd like you to meet a few people," Jessie said proudly.

"Okay. I'll see you when I get there. Love you," Katie finished.

"I love you too."

---------------

HOSPITAL

4:30

Katie found her way up to Pediatrics and made her way towards Jessie's office. She had never met Ruth but she knew her from Jessie's description. "Hi, is Dr. Sammler in?"

"Can I tell her who's here to see her?" Ruth asked, looking up to see a beautiful tall blonde woman standing in front of her holding a small bouquet of flowers. Then the realization hit her. "You must be Katie?"

"Yes. Oh, and these are for you," she said as she placed the flowers on her desk. "I guess you were the one who got to deal with my flower fetish. Sorry about that," she smiled. Katie was charming the pants off her.

"Well thank you so much and it was no trouble at all, such pretty flowers they were. I'll tell Dr. Sammler you're here. On second thought, why don't you go on in," Ruth told her.

Katie walked in to Jessie's office to see her working hard on some charts. She didn't want to disturb her so she just stood there at the door, watching her. Jessie sensed her presence in the room, without even looking up. "Are you just going to stand over there or are you coming in?" she said, startling Katie.

"Jeez, give me a heart attack will you?" she replied. "How did you know I was here?"

"I just knew," Jessie said, standing up and making her way across the room to Katie give her a quick hug and a kiss before taking her hand and dragging her out into the office. 

"Ruth, this is Katie," she said oblivious to the fact that she knew Katie had to have come through Ruth to get to her office. She was getting on that high feeling that she felt whenever she was around Katie and all logic and reason had begun to escape her.

"Yes, sweetie, I know. We met already," Ruth helped her out.

"Oh yeah, how stupid of me. Is Dr. Garrett still here?" Jessie asked.

"I think he's in his office with Dr. Ribizi," offered Ruth.

Jessie still had a hold of Katie's hand and dragged her off the other way. Katie kind of enjoyed being Jessie's show and tell. It was so amusing for her to see Jessie like this. She could still get all giddy like that teenager she first fell in love with.

They could hear the men's voices as they made their way closer to the office. It sounded like they were having a disagreement but as they got closer, Jessie realized it was another testosterone filled sports debate. She knocked on the door as she and Katie walked into the office. 

"Jessie, come join us," invited Ted. "Jim and I were talking about the Red Sox's chances at the pennant this year. Any thoughts?" Jessie could usually talk sports with the guys, as she liked to catch the occasional game at Fenway when she had the time, but today she could care less about sports. However, before she could say anything, Katie decided to add her two cents.

"Well, I don't know about that. Gonzalez is on the disabled list and the pitching could certainly use some help. I'd say the Yankees are the team to beat, but hey, what do I know, I'm just a girl," she said.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met," Jim Ribizi said as he moved closer to try out his best moves on this attractive blond that had come in with Jessie.

"Easy boy, she's taken," Jessie piped in. "Jim, Ted, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Katie Singer."

Ted extended his hand, "It's so nice to finally meet you Katie. I've heard quite a lot about you this week. You'll have to join me sometime at Fenway so we can discuss this pennant issue further," he added as he looked over to see Jim's mouth still wide open. Obviously, the gossip mill hadn't made it to his inner circle yet. "Jim, you might want to shut your mouth before you catch some flies in there."

Realizing he'd been gawking, he quickly regrouped and extended his hand as well. "Nice to meet you."

"We'll let you boys get back to your baseball talk. Have a nice weekend," she yelled over her shoulder as she grabbed Katie's hand to lead her away.

"Wow, she's hot," was all Jim could say.

"And she's with Jessie," Ted added matter of factly.

==================


	14. The Red Sox Fan

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 14: The Red Sox Fan

CAMBRIDGE, MA

5 Months Later

Katie just finished in-line skating along The Charles, and she sat down on one of the benches to rest and watch the BU and MIT rowing clubs dot the river. It was only 4:30 but the dark was ready to set in anytime. Benjamin Franklin had it all wrong when he thought that Daylight Saving Time should even end at all.

But the leaves were turning and the autumn air was crisp. If there ever was one thing that New Englanders were really proud off, it wasn't their baseball team – it was their autumn and the magnificent show that the trees put up every year. No directors, no scripts, no costume designers – just nature at its grandest. Luckily, it also coincided with the end of the baseball season and long-suffering Red Sox fans could nurse their sorrow once more until the Boys of Summer come back the following spring to give them yet another glimmer of hope of ever seeing a World Series Championship. It had been over a century since the pennant called Boston its home, and 3 generations of frustrated New Englanders could only chant their annual mantra every April: "This is going to be The Year."

And Katie had joined this fraternity of Red Sox masochists who made sure that their counterparts down south from the Bronx would always encounter a most terrible fate whenever they traveled up to Fenway for yet another showdown. The Yankees still won, they usually did, but they sure got booed, and that wasn't a very pleasant thing now, was it? She had season tickets, dammit! She was allowed to boo with the best of them! And Dr. Garrett and Dr. Ribizi were always there to join in the mayhem. Just like Tad and Russell were, 20 years ago.

After Jessie's accident, she and Katie did the long distance thing for a while. And for a while – like a month – it was okay. But Katie did not come this far just so she could have a Girl Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday… she already had plenty of those during her "Slutty Years", as Jessie playfully referred to her 20 Jessie-free years. And that was not the same because back then, she couldn't wait for Mondays to come so whoever her weekend guest was could leave and allow her back the comfort of her daily life.

But it was different with Jessie – she hated Saturday nights because Jessie would be gone the following day. She couldn't wait for Fridays so she could drive up to Boston and be with Jessie. After a while, it wasn't really practical anymore. Just exactly how many toothbrushes and toiletries could you leave in your weekend jaunts without thinking that maybe you should start paying weekend rent? How many miles could you travel back and forth before realizing that you spend so much time either on the train or in your car that you could actually put invisible mileage markers along I-95 and really, just cruise on auto pilot.

So Katie met with Rick when she went to Chicago on business sometime last June. She then took Karen out to lunch before she flew back to New York. And on the 4th of July, after she and Jessie staked their claim along the Cambridge side of The Charles to watch the fireworks and listen to the Boston Pops, Katie took Jessie's hand and gave her a real simple platinum ring with the bluest blue sapphire you could possibly imagine. As the fireworks brightened the sky over Boston and the Pops played the 1812 Overture with cannons and all, Katie held Jessie's hand and mustered with all her love what she had been rehearsing to say the whole week.

"Jessie, I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes as Jessie stared at her with her mouth opened, surprised at this revelation.

"Katie…" Jessie started saying something, but Katie interrupted her.

"Please let me finish, okay?" Katie said, still not letting go of Jessie's hand. "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you because the rest of my life just would NOT BE without you in it … " Katie trailed as more fireworks displayed its magic, the distant sound of the Pops still making Tchaikovsky proud.

And then Katie started blabbing… "Plus really, it isn't convenient anymore, we spend so much time coming and going. And frankly, I am tired of Connecticut. They have been doing construction on I-95 for the last 50 years and I suspect they would never get done. I really think the Union only let Connecticut in just so the travel between New York and Boston would be a lot more hellish that it actually is. Do you realize that 75% of the distance we travel is actually within the Connecticut stateline? It's not really the nutmeg state, it's the numbnut state! Because it goes on and on and on and by the time you make it out, you have disintegrated you have actually morphed into a NUMBNUT!" Whenever her emotions became too much, Katie either dissolved into silence or rambled on like a 3-year old to mask the enormity of her emotions.

Jessie smiled, bemused, not really knowing what to think.

"So, what do you say, Billie, should we have a go at it?" Katie asked, not really wanting to hear the answer if it would break her heart. Although she had already analyzed the worst-case scenario – Jessie saying "no" and breaking up with her – and she was ready to implement Plan B. Which involved some serious packing and some serious moving. She had not decided where, but Tibet was on top of the list that also included Siberia and Afghanistan.

After some silence, which felt like an eternity for Katie, Jessie turned to her and quickly kissed her and said, "I will be honored to have you in my life. For keeps."

As they both sat on their blankets, mystified by this non-stop burst of color in the sky, amused at the occasional car alarm going off because of the intensity of the fireworks, Jessie put her head on Katie's shoulder and continued to enjoy this warm summer night.

Oh, they discussed who should move where, Katie walked Jessie through her risk and return analysis for all possible scenarios, while Jessie assessed the quality of healthcare in both cities and really, which one had healthier and fresher vegetables. And the school system – they should not forget the school system. For if they were going to start a family together, they wanted to make sure that the school system was prepared for their soon-to-be-born extraordinarily intelligent, beautiful, sensitive, kind, athletic, DNA-gifted Super Baby. 

But one evening, as they were both in each other's arms at Katie's Sutton Place apartment, listening to the distant sound of the Coast Guard sailing into New York Harbor, Katie announced to a startled Jessie, "They have a tenured professor seat that was just vacated at the JFK School of Government, and they wanted me to start a Middle East Economics Research Center."

"But Katie, Harvard will be paying you a third of what you are making at the UN and NYU right now," Jessie exclaimed.

"It's okay… I can sponge off this really good friend who lives in a real trendy condo on Beacon Hill…" Katie said as she turned to Jessie to stroke her cheeks and caress her hair. "And I can always lease a little stall at Faneuil Hall to sketch portraits of ugly, unsuspecting tourists… that will be good for my food money, right? And if all else fails, I can always move up to this really nice place in Vermont and start milking for maple syrup. I think Vernon will be happy to have me as his assistant…"

"Oh Katie," Jessie said, recognizing that Katie was willing to leave the comfort of her NY life to be with her. This uncompromising, stubborn, smart-ass Katie. Her Katie. 

"Besides, I get to go back to the academic world, and you know what I like about it most?" Katie asked Jessie.

"What?" Jessie did not really know the answer.

"I'm already tenured, I don't need to play the "publish or perish" game anymore," Katie smiled. "Plus, UN is putting me on retainer…"

"You schmuck! You will still earn more money than I ever will in this lifetime!" Jessie joked as she pulled the pillow from under Katie's head and pretended to smother her with it.

They were both joking. Money was not really their main preoccupation. They already had everything they would ever need. They had each other. And they still did not know how far the Emerald City was, but it didn't matter – they were skipping and jumping on their way there and they did not even own ruby slippers!

And when the world would have forgotten about them, it would still be okay. Life had happened to them when it pulled them apart. Now they were ready to make life happen. This was The Long Run that mattered… not some class they could ditch or some planets orbiting the sun while the moon and the stars were reflected in their soulful, dreamy eyes… only high school kids think of those things. 

After a long wait, Karen finally planned her daughter's wedding. It wasn't conventional, because the cake did not have a bride and a groom on it. It had 2 hearts made of candied raspberries nestled where the tiny dolls should be. And that was really what this wedding was all about – not to satisfy the government definition of who was entitled to love – but to celebrate two hearts that traveled the world in search of its other self only to find that they were exactly where they were entrusted to 20 years ago.

Lesbian wedding? Same-sex commitment ceremony? Karen didn't quite know how to call this event she was excitedly planning. Because Jessie and Katie were always Jessie and Katie – they have always loved each other unconditionally – and the gender issue was somehow lost in the details. So in the end, she just referred to it as A Celebration. Because really, that was what it was.

===================


	15. Epilogue

****

Disclaimers:

We don't own any characters although it would be nice to borrow them sometime.

This is not really a science fiction, so the effects of any future technological advances are minimized - for all we know, Katie could have cloned Jessie.

****

Rating: A couple of love scenes, but nothing really smutty

======================

****

CHAPTER 15: Epilogue

Jessie and Katie did not live happily ever after. That only happened in fairy tales. But they lived as happy as anyone could be. Not always happy, not always dreaming and gazing at the moon, for that wasn't possible. But they looked forward to everyday because everyday was all they had at the moment.

Jessie did not readily, magnanimously, miraculously forget Katie's philandering 20 years. Once in a while, they would meet some gorgeous attractive woman in some UN or Harvard function, and a tinge of jealousy would still invade Jessie's heart. But that was normal, she thought. Because the moment she stopped feeling jealous, that would also be the moment she would stop loving Katie. And she would never stop loving Katie. Not ever. Every person who had actually made it to Katie's heart had to be there at precisely the time they were. Their presence was necessary because they helped Katie realized that she had really only loved one person in her life. 

They still went to the cabin every chance they got. Once in a while, Zoe or Eli or Grace and their families would join them there. The kids loved their Aunt Katie because she was the coolest skier they had ever met. They did not know of course that Katie learned some fancy moves from a former Olympic skier girlfriend. Their Aunt Katie looked like she was born with skis surgically attached to her feet – and she equally kicked butt on a snowboard. 

Rick and Lily and Karen had visited them several times. Katie always made sure that she and Rick go to a Red Sox game when he's in town so Katie could mouth off the pathetic statistics of the White Sox. At least the Red Sox was not at the bottom of the feeder, and of course, Rick hated that. During the football season, Rick, Katie, and Eli formed their own league with only the New England Patriots, the Chicago Bears, and the NY Giants all stacked against one another. Katie had designed this statistical score card model that could download sports information directly from the NFL web site and compared every single play the three teams made over the weekend. On Tuesdays, Katie would email them each team's respective Katie Composite Score and Rick was never happy to see how his Bears languished, although he thought that Katie's scorecard model was pretty nifty. Every 2 weeks, the winner with the highest score stood to collect from the losers and Katie made a small fortune from Eli and Rick's unfortunate teams.

And when Jessie gave birth to Karen Elizabeth Sammler-Singer the following year, Katie thought she was on top of the world, because she had never seen a more beautiful baby in her life. She thought she could not be any happier until Erick Michael Sammler-Singer came 3 years later, and she could not wait to get another pair of Red Sox season tickets to go with these two Red-Sox clad tykes. The identity of the father was not a known nor discussed fact outside of their closest circle, but it was one of Katie's older brothers, a scientist at NASA who also happened to be gay. Both kids had Jessie's eyes and Katie's lips and their parents' brains and hearts. And soon enough it was time to sell that one-bedroom condo on Beacon Hill for a larger home in Cambridge's Avon Hill district right outside of Harvard Square. 

But whenever Karen could fly in from Chicago to baby sit, Katie and Jessie still spent a few days in Katie's flat in London by the River Thames. Katie would never sell that flat because she had bought it for Jessie when Jessie was just a distant memory, and she would keep it for Jessie long after the world had forgotten about them.

When they attended Katie's 25th high school reunion in Sinclair, they were greeted with a spontaneous applause as they walked hand-in-hand into the ballroom and danced to Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child". Of course only after Katie bribed the DJ and recanted her previous collateral pledge - her first born. Sarah Grasser looked at them with disdain while the rest of the class basked in the love that seemed to radiate from these two. For Sarah, like Katie and Jessie, could also hold something in her heart after 20 years… she still had not understood why Katie broke up with her to be with Jessie.

So Katie taught and published and lived her calling; Jessie healed people and eventually also joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School. This assured their 2 kids a free ride to Harvard when they go to college. Only if they want to go to Harvard, of course. Because Katie was ready to send them to Oxford while Jessie thought Northwestern was the only institute of higher learning she could entrust their children too.

Jessie, however, did not live to see Kary and Erick attend either institution; she died from cancer at the age of 47. Too young, really, but she was ready to go home. She already had a glimpse of what Eternity was all about; Katie made it possible for her. 

Katie was devastated, but she continued on for their kids. She had to. She had kept her promise to God 13 years ago to never go astray again if He would save Jessie from that train accident. And after Jessie had died, she could only hold on to this God to help her through because really, she did not know how else to live.

But they all lived and still went to the cabin and spent time with Jessie's family. Every time Kary or Erick would come home and hug Katie, she knew that Jessie would live on through them. Katie never dated after that, she was busy raising 2 wonderful children. They still all went to Red Sox games, sometimes with Drs. Garrett and Ribizi, and they still visited Grammy Karen and Pop-pop Rick in Sinclair. 

Katie still spent time at the flat in London whenever she could, sometimes alone, sometimes with the children. And as the sunrise pierced the clouds over the Thames, she would look up at the sky and whisper, "I love you, Billie, I will always love you."

****

THE END

===========================


End file.
